Prime Minister

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Jim Shannon: To ask the Prime Minister, when the Government plans to make available the findings of the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement I made about the Grenfell Tower Fire on 29 June 2017, HCWS18.

Hillsborough Stadium

Alison McGovern: To ask the Prime Minister, on what date she received Bishop James Jones' report on the experience of the Hillsborough families.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave her on Wednesday 5 July, Official Report, column 1169.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Caroline Dinenage: In DWP, digital tools are being deployed across the organisation that are supporting new ways of working including the reduction and reliance on printing and associated costs.  We have the following spend data for Office copier paper:2012/132013/142014/15 2015/162016/17* to March 2017 £2,543,643£2,173,328£1,670,000£1,400,000£1,011,000

State Retirement Pensions

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has plans to raise the state pension age.

Guy Opperman: The Government has already stated that people should expect to spend on average ‘up to one third’ of their adult lives in retirement; and that any changes to State Pension age in the future should be fair to current and future generations of pensioners. To inform the first review into State Pension age, the Government commissioned two independent reports which were published in March 2017. I welcome both John Cridland’s report and the Government Actuary’s report as significant contributions to the evidence base. The Secretary of State is giving this issue the full consideration it deserves and will publish his report in due course.

Employment and Support Allowance

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent (a) sanctioning and (b) monitoring Employment and Support Allowance claimants over the last six months.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department does not separately identify the cost of sanctioning and monitoring claimants by benefit type.

Employment and Support Allowance

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the abolition of the Employment and Support Allowance Work-Related Activity component on the incidence of claimant poverty.

Penny Mordaunt: There will be no cash losers among those who are already in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and we have laid regulations to protect existing ESA claimants, including those who temporarily leave the benefit to try out work and then return to ESA. The Government published its assessment of the impacts of the change to the work-related activity component on 20 July 2015. http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006B.pdf

Employment and Support Allowance: Scotland

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people applying for Employment and Support Allowance in Scotland had to wait more than six weeks to receive their benefit in the last six months.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Government Departments: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Government Departments are disability confident.

Penny Mordaunt: All Government Departments have signed up to the Disability Confident scheme.

Pension Rights: Equality

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he will take to eliminate inequalities in pension rights.

Guy Opperman: The decision was made in 1995 to equalise the State Pension age for men and women. This addressed a longstanding inequality in pension age. If State Pension ages had not been equalised, women would be spending over 40% of their adult life in retirement. Men’s and women’s State Pension age will equalise in November 2018. The new State Pension is much more generous for many women, who have been historically worse off under the old system. By 2030, over 3 million women stand to gain an average of £550 extra per year as a result of recent changes. Automatic enrolment into workplace pensions was designed to help more people save for their retirement, including groups who historically have been less likely to save, such as women and lower earners. In 2012, overall workplace participation by eligible female employees was 58 per cent, compared to male participation at 52 per cent but since the introduction of automatic enrolment, the participation of female eligible employees has increased to 80 per cent in 2016 with overall male participation at 76 per cent. As part of the current review of automatic enrolment, the Government has committed to look at the existing coverage of the policy and consider the needs of those not currently benefiting from automatic enrolment. The review will have regard to the Equality Act, as well as the need to balance the needs of individual savers, with affordability for employers and value for money for tax payers.

Social Security Benefits

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date he plans to publish the list of long-term and life-limiting diseases that will be exempt from benefit re-assessments.

Penny Mordaunt: There is no condition based entitlement to Employment Support Allowance. Rather than a list of specific medical conditions, the criteria will be based on identifying claimants with the most severe health conditions or disabilities where it would be unreasonable to expect the individual to undertake any form or amount of work or work-related activity. This change will come into effect in autumn 2017 and will apply to those placed in Employment and Support Allowance’s Support Group and the Universal Credit equivalent. We are currently working with stakeholders to develop the new criteria and, when finalised, the amended guidance will be incorporated into the Work Capability Assessment Handbook published annually on GOV.UK. This change will be reflected in the summer 2018 update.

Disability: Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his policy to halve the disability employment gap by 2030.

Penny Mordaunt: This Government remains dedicated to improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. The Government has committed itself to getting 1 million more disabled people into work over the next ten years.

Disability: Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date he plans to publish the White Paper on Work, Health and Disability.

Penny Mordaunt: The Government published the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper (Improving Lives) in October 2016. The Government is currently reviewing over 6000 responses that were received as part of a national consultation, is considering next steps and will respond in due course.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of women born in the 1950s who are subject to changes in the state pension age in (a) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency and (b) Oxfordshire.

Guy Opperman: Women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1953 were affected by State Pension age equalisation under the Pensions Act 1995. The Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the equalisation of State Pension age, and included transitional arrangements limiting State Pension age delays, affecting women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. It also brought forward the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 which affected women born between 6 December 1953 and 5 April 1960. Information on the numbers affected by constituent country, parliamentary constituency or local authority is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. However, the most recent population breakdowns for England and its parliamentary constituencies by age can be found here:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/parliamentaryconstituencymidyearpopulationestimates Population breakdowns by local authority, region and country can be found here:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland The House of Commons library have produced a paper estimating the number of women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 (those born between 6 April 1953 and 5 April 1960) by constituency, which can be found here:http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7405/CBP-07405constituencyestimates.xlsx

Home Office

Northumbria Police

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding was allocated to Northumbria Police in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Nick Hurd: The 2015 Spending Review protected overall police spending in real terms, and the 2017-18 police funding settlement maintained that protection.Every Police & Crime Commissioner who maximised their local precept income in 2016-17 and 2017-18 is receiving at least the same direct resource funding in cash that they received in 2015-16. Forces funding is made available to Parliament each year in the statement.

Fire and Rescue Services: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been allocated to the Fire and Rescue Services in (a) the London Borough of Southwark and (b) London in each of the last seven years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The allocation of funding for the Fire and Rescue Service in the borough of Southwark and London is a matter for the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. The information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing .

Fires: Greater London

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on contingency planning for multiple fire incidents across London.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on contingency planning for multiple fire incidents across Greater Manchester.

Mr Nick Hurd: Contingency planning for multiple fire incidents is the responsibility of each local fire and rescue authority. Each fire and rescue authority has a statutory requirement to have mutual assistance arrangements in place to provide additional support including during major fires and other emergencies, and to review and test their arrangements. Local mutual assistance arrangements are augmented by national resilience capabilities available from across the country.

Terrorism: Greater London

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on contingency planning for multiple terrorist incidents across London.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office keeps the UK’s preparedness for terrorist attack under constant review, and is delivering a £144 million programme to increase numbers of armed police officers in the UK. The Home Office also trains and equips specialist fire and ambulance teams to manage casualties in higher risk environments. These capabilities are deployable to a terrorist incident occurring anywhere in the UK, including London. The Home Office’s National CT Exercise programme plays a vital role in ensuring that Government, blue light responders, military and other agencies are prepared to respond to terrorist attacks in the UK. The programme comprises large-scale live exercises that test the national response to a terrorist attack, and also includes regional and table-top exercises.

Terrorism: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on contingency planning for multiple terrorist incidents across Greater Manchester.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office keeps the UK’s preparedness for terrorist attack under constant review, and is delivering a £144 million programme to increase numbers of armed police officers in the UK. The Home Office also trains and equips specialist fire and ambulance teams to manage casualties in higher risk environments. These capabilities are deployable to a terrorist incident occurring anywhere in the UK, including in Greater Manchester. The Home Office’s National CT Exercise Programme plays a vital role in ensuring that Government, blue light responders, military and other agencies are prepared to respond to terrorist attacks throughout the UK. Exercise WINCHESTER ACCORD was delivered in Greater Manchester in May 2016. The exercise tested the emergency service and military response to a suicide bomb and firearms attack on a crowded place.

Community Security Trust: Grants

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to maintain at the same level or increase the annual grant to the Community Security Trust.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Yes. Careful consideration will be given to the funding level for the grant in future years.

Legal Costs

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of special grants were allocated by her Department to cover legal fees in each financial year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of acid attacks resulted in prosecutions in each of the last five years; and what steps she is taking to improve the reporting of acid attacks.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not specifically collect data from police forces on acid and other corrosive attacks as part of its regular data collection. Acid and other corrosive attacks resulting in injury are included in Office for National Statistics published statistics within assault with injury offences and assault with intent to cause serious harm offences, but cannot be disaggregated. We are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to get a better understanding of the scale and nature of acid and other corrosive attacks.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the capacity of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to handle multiple large-scale incidents such as that at Grenfell Tower simultaneously.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the capacity of the London Fire Brigade to handle multiple large-scale incidents such as that at Grenfell Tower simultaneously.

Mr Nick Hurd: All Fire and Rescue Services plan for major and complex incidents. For multiple large scale incidents, if a fire and rescue service’s local capacity needs augmenting, there are well developed mutual aid arrangements so it can draw on resources from neighbouring fire and rescue services and across the country. Home Office supports specialist national resilience capabilities to respond to multiple scale incidents. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) provide the coordination of support for national level incidents, working closely with the Government crisis management structures.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answers to the hon. Member for East Ham of 23 March 2017 to Questions 68535 and 68460, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislation to (a) control the sale and purchase of products with high acidic content and (b) restrict by age of consumer the sale and purchase of such products.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council jointly hosted a meeting on 4 July with medical experts, police, retailers, and officials from a number of Government departments and agencies to share understanding about the nature of attacks and discussed action being taken by the respective agencies. We are currently considering with retailers what action can be taken to restrict access to the most harmful products used in acid and other corrosive substance attacks.

Police

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from chief constables in relation to frontline police officer numbers.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Secretary regularly meets with and receives correspondence from Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables on a range of issues including frontline officer numbers. Decisions on the size, composition, and deployment of the police workforce are operational matters for directly accountable Police and Crime Commissioners and the Chief Constable of each area. We have a constructive and ongoing dialogue with policing about ensuring that the right powers, capabilities and resources are in place to keep the public safe.

Police

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review guidance on single crewing by police officers.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received about single crewing by police officers.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not produce guidance on single crewing. Decisions on patrol policy are for Chief Constables, working with directly accountable Police and Crime Commissioners who set the strategic direction for the force through their local police and crime plan. Chief constables keep their patrol policies under regular review and decide how best to respond to their local circumstances.

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the police funding formula review.

Mr Nick Hurd: We have engaged extensively with the policing sector and with independent experts on the funding formula review. Ministers will carefully consider any findings before taking decisions on next steps

Police Stations: Closures

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from police forces in relation to the closure of police stations.

Mr Nick Hurd: Decisions over the use of police stations and where they are located is a matter for the directly accountable Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable of each area.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there has been an increase in the number of acid attacks in 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not specifically collect data from police forces on acid attacks as part of its regular data collection. Acid attacks are included in published statistics within assaults with injury.

Knives: Greater London

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Metropolitan Police Service has sufficient resources to tackle knife crime in (a) London and (b) the London Borough of Enfield.

Mr Nick Hurd: The 2015 Spending Review protected overall police spending in real terms, and the 2017/18 police funding settlement maintained that protection for all forces, including the Metropolitan Police Service. It is for the Mayor’s office for Policing and Crime in London and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to determine how to use their available resources taking into account local priorities. The Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy published in March 2016 set out a range of measures to strengthen our response to knife crime. The Government is encouraging police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeting habitual knife carriers, weapon sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers, and the use of surrender bins. The Home Office hosted an all force briefing event on Operation Sceptre on 14 June and the next week of action which will include the Metropolitan Police Service will take place in July.

Home Office: Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps her Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

Mr Nick Hurd: I refer the Honourable Member for Stretford and Urmston to the answer given by the Right Honourable member for Ashford in response to the question.

Police Custody: Mental Illness

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to commence sections 80 to 83 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The commencement of sections 80 to 83 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 - which amend sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 - is being aligned with the making of related regulations on the use of police stations as places of safety for adults. These regulations are currently being finalised and will be laid in Parliament as soon as possible thereafter.

National Crime Agency: Serious Fraud Office

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to incorporate the National Crime Agency and the Serious Fraud Office.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Government is committed to strengthening the UK's response to bribery, corruption, money laundering, fraud and other forms of economic crime. The Government is continuing to review options to improve the effectiveness of the UK's response to economic crime, and any measures resulting from this work will be announced in due course.

Police: Mergers

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to merge the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the Ministry of Defence Police and the British Transport Police.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government is considering a broad range of options to optimise the protection of critical infrastructure such as nuclear sites and railways, including the future roles of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the Ministry of Defence Police and the British Transport Police.

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether  she plans to continue with the reform of the police allocation formula announced in July 2015.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the review of the police core grant distribution formula.

Mr Nick Hurd: We have engaged extensively with the policing sector and with independent experts on the funding formula review. We will carefully consider any findings before taking decisions on next steps.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-EU international students left the UK three months after completing their course in each of the last eight years.

Brandon Lewis: This data is not available.

Hillsborough Stadium

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has prepared its response to Bishop James Jones' report into the experiences of the Hillsborough families.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government plans to publish (a) Bishop James Jones' report into the experiences of the Hillsborough families and (b) the Government's response to that report.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date she received Bishop James Jones' report on the experience of the Hillsborough families.

Mr Nick Hurd: Bishop James Jones submitted his report into the experiences of the Hillsborough families to the Home Secretary on 20 June 2017. The report is being considered by the Government. The report and the Government’s response will be published in due course.

Asylum: Children

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children have been transferred under section 69 of the Immigration Act 2016 in the last six months.

Brandon Lewis: The National Transfer Scheme was launched on 1 July 2016 and has been working to ensure a fairer allocation of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) across the UK. A significant number of local authorities have participated in the scheme and enabled the transfer of children away from local authorities with a disproportionate number of UASC in their care.

Road Traffic Offences: Mobile Phones

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many motorists have been penalised for using a handheld mobile telephone while driving since 1 March 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold information for the time period requested. The Home Office publishes data on the number of fixed penalty notice (FPNs) issued for ‘use of a handheld mobile phone while driving’ in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical publication. The latest available data covers the calendar year 2015, and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561976/fixed-penalty-notices-police-powers-procedures-hosb1516-tables.ods Data for the calendar year 2016 will be published in autumn 2017.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in his Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of his Department.

James Brokenshire: There have been no protected disclosures made by staff within my Department.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Social Networking: Privacy

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Information Commissioner's Office on the data protection and privacy implications of the Snap Map feature available to users of the Snapchat service.

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the child protection implications of the Snap Map service available to users of Snapchat; and if she will take steps to ensure that children and vulnerable people who use that service have their location data protected from unofficial third parties.

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make representations to Snap Inc. about the data protection and privacy implications of the Snap Map feature available to users of the Snapchat service.

Matt Hancock: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for the protection of personal data and the right to privacy. The Secretary of State and I also met with the Information Commissioner last week to discuss data protection. The Government understands the concerns that have been raised and have discussed Snap Map with the ICO.

S4C: Reviews

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the implications of S4C's report entitled S4C: Pushing the Boundaries, published on 7 April 2017, for the Independent Review of S4C.

Matt Hancock: As set out in the Welsh Conservatives manifesto, the government remains committed to carrying out a review of S4C's remit, governance and funding in 2017. S4C's report will be assessed as part of the review. We will announce more details in due course.

21st Century Fox: Sky

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she will make a decision on referring the 21st Century Fox bid for Sky to the Competition and Markets Authority before the summer recess; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: I refer the Hon Gentleman to the oral statement made to the House on 29 June [Official Report 29 June; Vol 626 Col 762] by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in particular to the response given to the Hon Member for Wellingborough [Col 770]

Art Works: Ethnic Groups

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the representation of BME people in (a) the Royal Collection and (b) the national collection of art; and what proportion of those portrayed in the visual arts in each of those collections are BME.

John Glen: The Department does not hold the data requested. The Government is clear that it expects DCMS-sponsored museums to represent our diverse society in their artistic talent, workforce and audiences. DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries that actively collect and commission works of art are taking steps to interpret and add to their existing collections in ways that reflect contributions of black and minority ethnic (BME) people The Royal Collection is a private art collection of the British Royal Family. The Royal Collection Trust is responsible for its acquisitions.

S4C: Reviews

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to invite trades union representatives to her Department on the Independent Review of S4C.

Matt Hancock: As set out in the Welsh Conservatives manifesto, the government remains committed to carrying out a review of S4C's remit, governance and funding in 2017. We will announce more details in due course.

Children: Internet

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the safety of children who play interactional games online with strangers.

Matt Hancock: In 2015, the UK Council for Child Internet Safety published a practical guide for providers of social media and interactive services to encourage businesses to think about “safety by design” to help make their platforms safer for children and young people under 18. The guide has examples of good practice from leading technology companies, and advice from NGOs and other online child safety experts and includes advice on interactive games. Work has started on the DCMS-led cross-government internet safety strategy which will give us the opportunity to consider issues of online safety for children and young people, including gaming. We are considering how this will be taken forward under the Digital Charter.

Video Games: Children

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department takes to prevent parents and guardians buying video games for children which are not certified as appropriate for a child's age.

Matt Hancock: The Pegi age ratings and content advice on video games - and on associated marketing materials such as tv advertisements - help parents and guardians make informed choices about the products they purchase for children or allow them to access. We encourage those responsible for children to look carefully at the ratings and pictograms, on boxed products, on downloadable content, and also to consider using parental controls on gaming and mobile devices to manage access. We will continue to work with industry and the age ratings bodies on further promotion of the Pegi age ratings and advice about safe gaming, including through initiatives such as AskAboutGames.

S4C: Reviews

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Teledwyr Annibynol Cymru on the Independent Review of S4C.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Welsh Government's Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee on the Independent Review of S4C.

Matt Hancock: The department has not yet held discussions with Teledwyr Annibynol Cymru on the S4C Review as the review has yet to begin. As set out in the Welsh Conservatives manifesto, the government remains committed to carrying out a review of S4C's remit, governance and funding in 2017 and we will announce more details shortly.

S4C: Reviews

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish correspondence between her Department and the Wales Office on the Independent Review of S4C.

Matt Hancock: It would not be appropriate to publish correspondence which relates to ongoing policy development.

Video Games: Classification Schemes

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of downloading of additional content of videogames that will potentially change the age classification of the game.

Matt Hancock: The Pegi classification system for video games considers the potential for additional downloadable content to diverge from the age rating of the initial product. Under the terms of the certificates issued for games by the UK’s Games Rating Authority (GRA), where subsequent content offered for download is not appropriate to the Pegi rating issued, the new material must be notified to the GRA so they can review and award a new Pegi rating.Video games publishers failing to comply face fines from Pegi of up to 500,000 Euros. In the last 12 months the GRA has received seven submissions of additional downloadable content from games publishers. They considered that none of these needed a higher Pegi rating than the original game.

Tourism: EU Nationals

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of introducing tax incentives to compensate the tourism industry for any increase in the cost of employing EU citizens after the UK leaves the EU.

John Glen: We have regular discussions with the Chancellor and other Cabinet colleagues about the implications of EU exit on DCMS sectors. We will continue to work with our colleagues in Treasury to support the tourism sector in the best way possible.

Department of Health

Hospitals: Fire Prevention

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what resources have been made available to local NHS trusts for fire safety inspections at hospitals in Lambeth and Southwark.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what fire safety inspections have been carried out at hospitals in London.

Mr Philip Dunne: As part of the response to the tragic events at the Grenfell Tower, actions have been implemented across the National Health Service to assess the risks of similar issues and ensure that the NHS estate is safe. All NHS trusts, including those with buildings in Lambeth and Southwark, as well as all trusts across London, have in the past weeks provided assurance that they have undertaken a fire risk assessment in the past 12 months. Fire safety checks of NHS facilities are regularly undertaken in line with legislation and guidance. Hospitals are well prepared – each one has a tailored fire safety plan. But nothing is more important than the safety of patients and staff, so on a precautionary basis we have asked all hospitals to conduct additional checks. Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement instigated new inspections by local fire and rescue services on 24 June 2017, which has continued across the NHS. By their nature, these fire safety inspections do not require significant resources to be deployed by the NHS trusts themselves.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has paid for the medical treatment of UK citizens in other EU member states in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department on behalf of the United Kingdom Government reimburses other European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland for the cost of providing treatment to people we are responsible for under European Union law, irrespective of nationality. In the same way, other EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the UK for the cost of the National Health Service providing treatment to people they are responsible for under EU law, including UK nationals insured in another EEA country or Switzerland. Member State claims against the UK are in local currency so totals are significantly affected by the exchange rate at the time of payment and can mean a difference of millions of pounds. Member States can submit claims up to 18 months in arrears so claims for any 12 month period do not necessarily reflect treatment provided in that period. Requested figures are provided in the attached document rounded to the nearest pound. Figures for 2016–17 should be published over the summer.



PQ2506 attached table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.25 KB)

Drugs: Manufacturing Industries

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the differences in (a) development, (b) manufacturing and (c) regulatory costs of biosimilar and generic medicines.

Steve Brine: We recognise that there may be differences in development, manufacturing or regulatory costs for biosimilars compared to generics, arising, for example, from pharmacovigilance and other manufacturing and licencing requirements, but no such assessment has been made.

Luke Dicker

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will offer support to Luke Dicker to allow him to access the Specialist Professor at Bath University, Mark Brosnan; whether Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group or Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Care Partnership is responsible for that treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Referrals of specific individuals, to particular providers would be a matter for local clinicians, in line with local commissioning policy. The responsible commissioning group will be determined by the general practice where the patient is registered.

Orkambi

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Vertex on the provision of Orkambi to people with cystic fibrosis; when he plans to respond to the Accelerated Access Review; what his policy is on the provision of Orkambi to people with cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Ministers and Government officials have had a number of discussions with Vertex and NHS England in which the availability of Orkambi for the treatment of cystic fibrosis was raised. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops guidance for the National Health Service on whether new drugs and treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of resources. NICE published final guidance on the use of Orkambi (lumacaftor-ivacaftor) for treating cystic fibrosis homozygous for the F508del mutation in July 2016 that does not recommend this treatment. Where NICE has not been able to recommend a treatment, funding decisions should be made by the relevant NHS commissioner, based on an assessment of the available evidence. We are considering the Accelerated Access Review’s recommendations and will respond in due course.

Midwives

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many midwives working in the NHS in England were 70 or older in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the following table shows the number of midwives who are 70 and over working in the National Health Service in England at 30 September 2012 to 2016. Data for March 2017 is also provided as this is the latest available. The data is headcount because equality data relates to individuals. NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Registered midwives who are 70 and and over in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England as at 30 September each specified year and latest data as at 31 March 2017.Midwives age profile (headcount)20122013201420152016March-2017   70 and over101313151419Source: NHS Digital, Provisional NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics.

Midwives: Training

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many midwives have been in formal training in England in each six month period since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: Information relating to the number of midwives in training has been collected annually by Health Education England since 2013. Prior to this, the information was collected from strategic health authorities. The following table shows the total number of midwives in formal training in England in each financial year from 2010/11 to 2016/17.2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/175,6445,9556,3156,4136,6626,3506,559 Source: From 2013/14 - Health Education England EdCom Analysis returns,Pre 2013/14 Department of Health Financial Information Management System (FIMS)

Midwives

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the age profile was of midwives working in the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the following table shows the age profile of midwives working in the National Health Service in England at 30 September 2012 to 2016. Data for March 2017 is also provided as this is the latest available. The data is headcount because equality data relates to individuals. NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Registered midwives by five year age band in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England as at 30 September each specified year and latest data as at 31 March 2017 20122013201420152016March-2017Age profile of midwives (headcount)  England24,76525,00625,33325,41825,46626,081   Under 251,0001,1361,1591,1561,1491,38725 to 292,2182,4212,6772,9493,2053,40030 to 342,7422,8252,8922,9093,0073,16635 to 392,7402,7562,8803,0463,1473,25140 to 443,5443,2873,1593,0593,0042,98945 to 495,0494,8264,4253,9953,6223,51850 to 544,2584,4514,6114,6644,5854,53455 to 592,2602,3412,5192,5582,6562,69360 to 6481880783589391697165 and over136156176189175172 Source: NHS Digital, Provisional NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics

Social Workers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many social workers have been employed in the adult social care sector in the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Skills for Care collect data on the adult social care workforce. Workforce estimates are derived from the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care and are based on a combination of the Independent sector and local authority information. The information for years 2012/13 to 2015/16 is shown in the following table. Comparable, full figures for 2016/17 will be published on 19 July 2017. Number of Social Worker jobs in Adult Social Sector by years, 2012/13 to 2015/16 2012/132013/142014/152015/16Total Social Worker Jobs in Adult Social Sector (rounded)17,70017,90016,60017,300Source: National Minimum Data Set for Social Care – managed by Skills for Care

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department provides to Clinical Commissioning Groups on (a) workforce planning and (b) the number of social workers available on hospital wards.

Jackie Doyle-Price: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister of State (Mr Philip Dunne) on 29 June to Question 697

Department of Health: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department is committed to providing digital services and delivering on the Government’s sustainability targets. This includes measures taken to reduce printing and manual processing on paper. We have introduced a managed print service and have replaced old printers with fast, modern, multi-functional Xerox devices. These provide “Follow me” capability which releases print copies only when collected thus reducing paper wastage, cutting printing costs and reducing the risk of information being misplaced. The Department routinely uses digital technologies to manage information electronically including online performance appraisals, sickness absence and pay slips, and the digital processing of procurement and purchasing, invoicing and correspondence. File sharing and publishing are carried out via digital channels including Cloud services. Plans are in place to further digitise departmental business processes and improve access to online management information in 2018. By the end of the summer the Department will also have move to a fully mobile device enabled workforce, which supported by corporate wifi services will see all Departmental staff able access digital services and perform transactions digitally on internal and external systems.

Acids: Crimes of Violence

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital admissions in England were categorized as assault by corrosive substance in each year since 2012.

Mr Philip Dunne: The table below shows counts of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with an external cause of assault by corrosive substance, for each year since 2012 in England. Counts of FAEs with an external cause of assault by corrosive substance, 2012-13 to 2015-16 activity in England YearFAEs2012-13972013-141092014-151062015-1698 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS DigitalNotes: 1. A FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2. Activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

Addiction: Medical Treatments

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to increase funding for addiction services in England.

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, why expenditure on adult drug misuse services in England has fallen by over £42 million since 2013-14.

Steve Brine: The Government has committed £16 billion in funding to local councils over the current five year spending review period to tackle public health issues. Any decisions on commission of effective drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services are the responsibility of local authorities based on an assessment of local need.

HIV Infection

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to continue the reduction in the number of HIV cases in the UK.

Steve Brine: Good practice followed at five specialist sexual health clinics (SHCs) that saw a large fall in new diagnoses of HIV among gay and bisexual men will be promoted at other SHCs across the country. The practices include increasing the uptake of testing for all gay and bisexual men by promoting repeat testing among those at higher risk of HIV acquisition and the early commencement of treatment for those who are diagnosed. In addition to HIV testing at SHCs and self-sampling funded by local authorities Public Health England (PHE) has contracted HIV Prevention England to undertake a national programme of HIV prevention for high risk populations to promote key HIV prevention messages including HIV testing and safer sexual behaviours. PHE is also working with NHS England to clarify commissioning arrangements for treatment as prevention to accelerate this progress.

Cancer: Tomography

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that MRI scans can better detect cancer tumours.

Steve Brine: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning is an increasingly important element of cancer diagnosis and assessment for cancer treatment. It allows detailed imaging of tumours and in some cases the detection of possible spread. This is important for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. NHS England’s National Cancer Programme has a number of initiatives underway to support the delivery of key strategic priorities including the National Diagnostic Capacity Fund. The fund is an investment in specific projects and interventions to change the way we deliver diagnostic services and unlock capacity by delivering more efficiently. The fund is focusing on redesigning and streamlining patient pathways, to ensure that patients receive the right tests at the right time, including MRI scans, as efficiently as possible.

Parkinson's Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on any connection between Parkinson's disease and faulty immune cells.

Steve Brine: No discussions have taken place between Ministers of the Department and the Royal Colleges on this matter.

Ambulance Services: Essex

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the budget of the East of England Ambulance Service has been increased to account for the additional workload of the Essex Success Regime hospital reconfiguration proposals.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England has advised that the Mid and South Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership has always accepted that the possibility of consolidating specialist services across three hospitals could require additional ambulance capacity potentially requiring some capital investment and an increase in revenue per annum. The modelling that has been done to date in partnership with East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust was designed to give an indication of any potential increase so that this may be built in to the developing pre-consultation business case. Clinicians are currently working on more detailed proposals for specific service areas. Any required investments will be agreed by clinical commissioners and subsequently assured by NHS England and other regulators. Any increase in investment would be agreed in the usual way through the annual contract for ambulance services.

Hospitals: Hertfordshire

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions and meetings the management of West Hertfordshire NHS Hospitals Trust has had with (a) Crown Estates and (b) Hertfordshire County Council on available green field sites for a new acute hospital for West Hertfordshire.

Mr Philip Dunne: In February 2016, Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) commissioned an external professional review of potential alternative sites for the location of acute hospital services for West Hertfordshire. This was to ensure a full understanding of the range of sites available and those that might provide a viable alternative to the current location of services at Watford. The CCG commissioned Amec Foster Wheeler to carry out the review, which took place between March and July 2016. The final report was published in August 2016 and is available on the CCG’s website:http://hertsvalleysccg.nhs.uk/documents/publications/your-care-your-future/3941-final-september-2016-site-report-from-afw Amec Foster Wheeler liaised with Hertfordshire County Council, all relevant district borough councils and Crown Estates representatives in developing this report.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are the for the time taken to publish Health Education England's mental health workforce strategy; and if he will set a date for its publication.

Mr Philip Dunne: A five year workforce plan to deliver the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health is currently being finalised by Health Education England and will be published in summer 2017. Analysis and development of the workforce strategy have been completed and Health Education England is now working with arm’s length body partners to agree the associated goals, trajectories, actions, and other deliverables associated with the implementation of the strategy.

Cancer: Health Services

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress is being made on implementing Recommendation 65 of the Cancer Strategy for England; and whether every person with cancer will have access to the elements of the Recovery Package by 2020.

Steve Brine: The elements of the Recovery Package are being delivered in many trusts and clinical commissioning groups across England. All Cancer Alliances and Vanguard sites have set out plans to accelerate roll out and reduce variation in access, so that every person with cancer can access this type of support by 2020. To support this, and so that we can monitor progress, NHS England is developing a national baseline which will be available by the end of the year.

Cancer: Health Services

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department and NHS England will publish a progress report on each recommendation made in the Cancer Strategy for England.

Steve Brine: The National Cancer Transformation Board published a report on progress of implementation in October 2016. The progress report also detailed the key outcomes for patients we want to see achievements in by 2020/21 in prevention, survival, early diagnosis, treatment, patient experience and quality of life for patients.

Cancer

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when Cancer Transformation Funding will be available to support the Recovery Package and stratified pathways in England.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Cancer Transformation Funding that was made available to Cancer Alliances following an announcement by NHS England in December 2016 in supporting the roll-out of the Recovery Package, stratified pathways and early diagnosis measures across England.

Steve Brine: In December 2016, Cancer Alliances were invited to submit bids against a £200 million transformation fund (for 2017/18 and 2018/19) to support delivery of early diagnosis and implementation of the Recovery Package and stratified follow-up pathways. Based on an assessment of the bids, NHS England has decided to take a phased approach to releasing the funding over the course of 2017/18. Proposals to access the funding underwent an assessment using the Best Possible Value framework, a standardised framework which aims to place consideration of value to population, to patient and to taxpayer at the heart of decision-making, enabling evaluation and comparison of different options using an evidence based methodology. Based on the assessment, a panel chaired by the Executive Medical Director of NHS Improvement, along with NHS England regional representation, clinicians and patient charity representation, recommended a phased approach to releasing the funding over the course of 2017/18. The effectiveness of the funding will be assessed against the ambitions set by the independent Cancer Taskforce in their strategy for cancer services, published in July 2015.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were detained under section (a) 135 and (b) 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in each year since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The table shows the uses of Section 135 and 136 under the Mental Health Act 1983 for 2010/11 to 2015/16. 2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16All Short Term Detention Orders24,28525,67525,11228,25031,27335,955Place of safety orders14,39915,24014,29617,31519,71823,521Section 135288338243307315556Section 13614,11114,90214,05317,00819,40322,965Source: KP90 - NHS Digital Place of safety detentions only includes those where the place of safety was a hospital. Orders made where the place of safety was a police station are outside the scope of the KP90 collection.

Mental Health Services: Nurses

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health nurses are in post in (a) Liverpool, (b) England and (c) each region of England.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the following table shows mental health nurses employed by the National Health Service in Liverpool, England and each Health Education England region at March 2017, the latest data available. NHS Hospital and Community Health Services: Qualified mental health nurses, by Health Education England regions and in Liverpool, in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England, as at 31 March 2017  Qualified mental health nurses (full-time equivalent)England39,132  Health Education East Midlands3,859Health Education East of England3,096Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex2,082Health Education North Central and East London2,500Health Education North East3,853Health Education North West6,128Health Education North West London1,868Health Education South London2,369Health Education South West2,837Health Education Thames Valley946Health Education Wessex1,631Health Education West Midlands4,392Health Education Yorkshire and the Humber3,571  NHS trusts and CCGs in Liverpool968Source: NHS Digital

Cancer: Health Services

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Cancer Strategy for England will be fully implemented by 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, ‘Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A strategy for England 2015-2020’, in July 2015 and it represented the consensus views of the whole cancer community. The Government has accepted all 96 recommendations in the strategy, and implementation is being led by NHS England’s National Cancer Transformation Board.

Pharmacy Integration Fund: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide a breakdown of how the Pharmacy Integration Fund has been spent to date.

Steve Brine: The Pharmacy Integration Fund financial figures are due to be published later in the summer.

Prisoners: Mental Illness

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisoners waited more than 14 days for a transfer to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 in 2016-17.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Figures from NHS England state that in the financial year 2016/17 there were 711 reported transfers where the waiting time was longer than 14 days. It is important to note that an individual prisoner may have undergone more than one transfer during the time period.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government published its response to the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health on 9 January 2017. The Government accepted all recommendations set out in the report and are progressing the work as set out in the response.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fracking

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many civil servants work full-time in the shale gas team in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 03 July 2017



The staff allocation to the shale gas team is 12.4 full time equivalents for this financial year (2017/2018).

Small Businesses: Advisory Services

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions the Government has had with businesses and finance providers on establishing schemes to provide advice to small businesses on how to secure finance.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to increase the availability of free and low-cost financial and business advice for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Margot James: The Government is in regular contact with businesses and finance providers to understand the needs of small businesses. Our industrial strategy will address the barriers many of them face to scaling up and growing by improving access to finance across the country and back institutions which can drive growth and private sector equity investment.Government is taking a number of steps to ensure small businesses can access support, including the UK’s business-led Productivity Council with £13 million to provide practical tools to businesses to improve productivity.The Business Support Helpline provides signposting, diagnostic support and business improvement advice to pre-starts, start-ups, and existing businesses across phone and digital channels nationally.The Government has also provided £38million to support and invest in the creation of a network of 38 Growth Hubs across England as an integral part of the Government’s ambition to drive local growth and productivity.In addition, applicants to the Start Up Loans programme get access to mentors who provide them with advice alongside their loan, thereby enhancing their chances of success. At the end of May 2017, the Start Up Loans programme had lent £319m to more than 48,000 entrepreneurs.We have invested an additional £400 million in the British Business Bank to catalyse later stage venture capital investments by the private sector. This will unlock £1 billion of equity funding, in later stage venture capital. And we will work with them to further understand the obstacles firms face accessing capital outside London and the South East.The British Business Bank produces the Business Finance Guide, in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a further 21 business and finance organisations, to increase smaller businesses’ understanding of the finance options available to them. This is also available as an online, interactive at https://thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/.

European Space Agency

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the net value of the European Space Agency.

Joseph Johnson: The Department invested €1.44 bn with the European Space Agency (ESA) at a Ministerial meeting in Lucerne in December 2016. Before making this investment in line with normal Government practice we undertook a vigorous business case process. The investment was balanced to achieve a number of objectives including excellent science, earth observation including climate study, commercial growth in telecommunications and other technology as well as protecting the space environment. The financial returns were modelled as between €6 and €10 for every €1 invested.Independent research on “returns from public investment in space” by London Economics has shown that past investment with ESA has generated average returns of £10 for every £1 invested.

Solar Power: Non-domestic Rates

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the rooftop solar power market of the business rate rise for organisations investing in solar power for their own consumption.

Richard Harrington: Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. It is too early for official statistics to be able to see any effect of business rates as the changes have only just taken effect.

Non-domestic Rates: Solar Power

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to incentivise businesses to invest in rooftop solar.

Richard Harrington: Solar PV is a UK success story. In 2013 we estimated that solar capacity would reach 10-12GW by 2020. We now expect Government support to bring forward around 13 GW by 2020. The Feed-in Tariff remains open to solar PV which provides an incentive for businesses to invest in rooftop solar.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

Richard Harrington: The Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project was given a Development Consent Order in June 2015. A marine licence has not yet been awarded by Natural Resources Wales. The responsibility for deciding whether to grant a seabed lease rests with the Crown Estate. The Government’s negotiations with Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd are commercially sensitive and it would not be appropriate to comment on the latest proposal.

Tidal Power: Colwyn Bay

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made on the feasibility of the proposed Colwyn Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

Richard Harrington: The Hendry Review considered the strategic role of tidal lagoons in the UK. The Government is currently assessing the recommendations of that review. A Government response will be published in due course.

Tidal Power: Cardiff Bay

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made on the feasibility of the proposed Cardiff Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

Richard Harrington: The Hendry Review considered the strategic role of tidal lagoons in the UK. The Government is currently assessing the recommendations of that review. A Government response will be published in due course.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: Scotland

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department will ensure that the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund complements existing initiatives in Scotland to deliver an holistic approach to innovation.

Claire Perry: We have announced the first six challenges of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) that will bring together the world leading research from across the UK with business to meet major industrial and societal challenges. The ISCF is a UK wide fund so its competitions for funding, and the programmes it will deliver, will be open to businesses and researchers across the UK.

Industry: Scotland

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure closer collaboration between the Government and the Scottish Government in relation to the Government's Industrial Strategy.

Claire Perry: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave him to Question UIN 411 on 29th June 2017.

Productivity

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the Government is addressing the regional productivity gap in each region and constituent part of the UK.

Margot James: The objective of Government’s Industrial Strategy is to increase productivity and drive growth across the United Kingdom. We have provided a framework to build on the strengths of different places and address the factors that hold others back. This will include investing in key infrastructure projects, increasing skill levels, and backing local innovation strengths.The Industrial Strategy will build on the £12 billion Local Growth Fund (2015-16 to 2020-21) for local areas; 8 Devolution Deals; and 48 Enterprise Zones that will unlock £2.7 billion of private sector investment. We have also agreed ambitious city deals in Scotland and Wales and we will work towards further such deals across the Devolved Administrations.

Direct Rail Services: Pay

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the one per cent public sector pay cap applies to employees of Direct Rail Services Ltd.

Richard Harrington: The public sector pay cap does not apply to employees of Direct Rail Services Ltd.

Iron and Steel: USA

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect on the UK steel industry of the US Administration imposing a 20 per cent tariff on steel imports to the US.

Claire Perry: It would be inappropriate to speculate on a report that we’ve not seen or on the outcome. However, we remain in close contact with the steel and aluminium industry regarding this investigation.We have made it very clear to the US that we are deeply concerned by any measures that would affect UK industry. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade visited Washington on 19-20 June, accompanied by senior officials from the BEIS steel team, for meetings with the Commerce Secretary and United States Trade Representative, to discuss a range of key UK interests including steel.

Electricity Interconnectors

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of electricity will be supplied by interconnectors in (a) 2020 and (b) 2025.

Richard Harrington: The proportion of electricity that will be supplied by electricity imports by 2020 is expected to be 7.6%. The power supply sector is projected using the reference case scenario from the Energy and Emissions Projections 2016 (published March 2017), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2016 Up to 2020, the reference scenario reflects current power sector policies. Beyond 2020, the reference scenario includes assumptions that go beyond current Government policy. The results do not indicate a preferred outcome and should be treated as illustrative.

Electricity: Prices

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average price of electricity supplied by (a) interconnectors and (b) other electricity generation was in the last year for which figures are available.

Richard Harrington: The Government does not hold prices on electricity imports over interconnectors. This is commercial information held by market participants. As regards the average price for other electricity generation, the average UK power price in the day ahead market, the most commonly cited trading time frame, was £45.01 over the past 12 months. This is an incomplete picture as power is sold across a number of time frames, from year ahead through to intraday trading, and it would be inappropriate to extract wholesale prices from one time frame and use it to infer prices across other time frames. The Government does not have visibility of longer term time frames, which is commercial information held by market participants.

Natural Gas: Competition

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to further improve competition in the domestic gas industry; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Progress has been made in recent years to improve competition in the domestic retail gas with households now having a choice of around 55 companies supplying gas. Smaller suppliers are continuing to grow their market share and now have just over 18% of the domestic retail gas market.We have reduced by half the time it takes to switch suppliers and are working with Ofgem to move to even faster and more reliable switching. Ofgem are working on developing better ways to engage consumers and on 3 July announced trials to help customers on expensive standard tariffs find and switch to cheaper energy deals.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on UK energy security of any change in ownership of the NuGen power station at Moorside; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: There are no security of supply implications arising from the potential change in ownership of NuGen. The UK has established processes through the Capacity Market to ensure security of supply through a diverse range of generation assets.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the completion date for the NuGen nuclear power station at Moorside; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Toshiba are considering options for the sale of NuGen, who are currently undertaking an internal strategic review looking at options to take forward their proposed project at Moorside. The project timetable will be dependent on decisions made in the light of this review.

Research: Private Sector

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what incentives his Department provides to the private sector to increase expenditure on research and development.

Joseph Johnson: We are increasing public investment in research and development investment by £4.7 billion over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21. This equates to an extra £2 billion per year by 2020-21 and is an increase of around 20% to total government R&D spending, more than any increase in any parliament since 1979.We are creating the right environment to incentivise private sector investment in R&D. Innovate UK currently provides funding for research, development and demonstration projects and has funded over 11,000 projects to date, with over 8,000 unique organisations involved.Through Innovate UK, we have established a network of Catapult Centres to commercialise new and emerging technologies and Catapults are forecast to attract total public and private investment exceeding £1.6bn over their first five years of operation. R&D tax credits encourage greater R&D investment by business and in the year ending 31 March 2015 almost 21,000 companies used the R&D tax credits to claim a total amount of £2.45 billion, with R&D expenditure used to make these claims reaching £21.8 billion.Science, Research and Innovation will be at the heart of our Industrial Strategy and this Government has bold ambitions to increase R&D and back industries of the future. Our commitment to reach R&D investment of 2.4% of GDP within ten years and 3% in the longer-term is part of this.

Natural Gas: Storage

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on the supply of energy of Centrica's decision to close its Rough field storage facility.

Richard Harrington: Centrica Storage Ltd’s decision to close the Rough gas storage facility is a commercial decision based on the age of the asset and the costs of repair. We have recently undertaken a full strategic assessment of our long-term gas security, including scenarios without Rough. We will publish this in due course. The UK continues to be benefit from a range of flexible sources of natural gas, including: production from the North Sea; six international gas pipelines with Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands; three Liquefied Natural Gas terminals that can bring gas from anywhere in the world; and a number of modern, responsive gas storage facilities.

Business: Public Transport

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the effect on businesses of the accessibility of local bus and rail infrastructure.

Claire Perry: The Government recognises the importance of good local bus and rail infrastructure to businesses. For this reason, I am working with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure that upgrading infrastructure is one of the key pillars of the Government’s emerging Industrial Strategy.In addition to our work on the emerging Industrial Strategy, the Government continues both to invest in transport infrastructure and to provide new powers to local areas, to ensure local transport services meets the needs of businesses and the wider community. As such we are investing £46bn to operate and enhance the railway between 2014-19 and a further £900m, through the Local Growth Fund, towards schemes that improve rail and bus infrastructure. We have also given local communities new ways to improve local transport for the benefit of businesses. For example, the Bus Services Act gives new powers to local authorities and bus operators to work with local businesses to provide the services they need.

Fracking

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on hydraulic fracturing.

Richard Harrington: The UK Government supports shale gas exploration to determine the potential of the industry. Shale gas is natural gas found deep underground in impermeable shale rock and requires hydraulic fracturing (or ‘fracking’) to flow. Shale gas could create a new British industry, provide more jobs and make us less reliant on imports from abroad. However, we are clear, shale gas operations will only take place in a manner which is safe for the environment and local communities. Any company looking to develop shale will need to obtain all the necessary permissions, including planning and environmental permits, before hydraulic fracturing can be carried out.

Fracking: Regulation

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on the regulation of hydraulic fracturing.

Richard Harrington: The Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound. The UK has a strong regulatory system which provides a comprehensive regime for all shale gas activities. The Government has been recently elected and its approach to implementing the manifesto proposals, including any involving legislation, has yet to be finalised.

UK Trade with EU

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders about its proposal that the UK should remain in the single market and customs union for at least five years after the UK leaves the EU.

Claire Perry: The Department works closely with the UK automotive industry including through the Automotive Council which is attended by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. We have frequent conversations about the challenges that leaving the EU poses and the opportunities available to different sectors as well as the government’s position as set out in the EU Exit White Paper. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said we will continue to work closely with business to ensure we reflect the key concerns and deliver the best deal for Britain.

Apprentices: Pay

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the findings of the 2016 Apprenticeship Pay Survey.

Richard Harrington: The 2016 Apprenticeship Pay Survey report will be published in due course.

Sheffield University: Iron and Steel

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision by the Higher Education Funding Council for England not to fund the Advanced Structured Testing Centre at Sheffield University on the UK steel industry; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is a non-departmental public body with statutory independence from Ministers. Detailed and specific funding decisions are therefore entirely a matter for HEFCE. In this instance, HEFCE issued a competitive call into which universities across the UK were invited to submit bids for science capital funding. All bids were evaluated by an independent expert assessment panel against clearly defined, published criteria, including a requirement that bids should be built on a strong record of research excellence and should leverage co-investment from non-public sources at a ratio of at least 2:1. The University of Sheffield’s bid for a “Steel Research and Testing Centre” did not meet all of the criteria on this occasion. A further funding round will open in the Autumn, and the University may submit a revised bid.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the potential reduction in the domestic energy market consumer detriment to be achieved by implementing an extension of the pre-payment meter safeguard tariff to those eligible for Warm Home Discount who have a credit meter.

Richard Harrington: The Department has made no such assessment. The effect of any extension of the safeguard tariff would depend on the number of customers who are eligible and the level at which the cap is set. This is a matter for Ofgem, which is currently considering options, including extending the current safeguard tariff.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department defines a vulnerable customer in the domestic energy market.

Margot James: Ofgem is subject to a duty under the Gas Act (1986) and Electricity Act (1989), to consider the interests of consumers who might be considered vulnerable in the domestic energy market. These include those who are disabled, chronically sick, elderly, on low income or live in rural areas.Ofgem are also able to take into account the needs of other groups of consumers who may be vulnerable.Ofgem’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy is available online at:https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/75550/consumer-vulnerability-strategy-pdf

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has had from Ofgem on the timescale for the (a) publication of measures to protect vulnerable consumers with an extension of the pre-payment meter safeguard tariff and (b) implementation of such measures; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what scope Ofgem has to implement a domestic energy market price cap without the need for further primary legislation.

Margot James: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Natural Gas: Prices

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of gas energy to customers.

Margot James: Great Britain has one of the largest and most competitive wholesale gas hubs in the world and British retail gas prices are amongst the lowest in Europe. We benefit from highly diverse and flexible sources of gas supply, including storage, indigenous production, six international gas pipelines with Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands and three liquefied natural gas terminals.In addition, increased competition in the retail gas market means that households now having a choice of around 55 companies supplying gas. Smaller suppliers are continuing to grow their market share and now have just over 18% of the domestic retail gas market. Nevertheless the Government considers that domestic standard variable tariff customers are being charged unjustifiably high prices – as confirmed by the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the energy market.In addition Ofgem has said it will consider extending the price cap in place for customers on pre-payment meters to more vulnerable customers.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on which stakeholders Ofgem plans to meet to discuss formulation of proposals for increased price protection in domestic energy markets.

Margot James: The Department is not currently aware of which stakeholders the independent regulator Ofgem plans to meet with, to discuss proposals for increased price protections in domestic energy markets.

Natural Gas: Storage

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve the storage capacity of the gas grid.

Richard Harrington: There has been significant investment in the UK’s natural gas supply infrastructure over the last decade. As a result we benefit from highly diverse and flexible sources of natural gas. These include indigenous production from the North Sea; six international gas pipelines with Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands; three Liquefied Natural Gas terminals that can bring gas from anywhere in the world; and a number of modern, responsive gas storage facilities. We are confident that market-led investment will continue to deliver secure gas supplies.

Fracking

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's policy is on fracking.

Richard Harrington: The UK Government supports shale gas exploration to determine the potential of the industry. Shale gas is natural gas found deep underground in impermeable shale rock and requires hydraulic fracturing (or ‘fracking’) to flow. Shale gas could create a new British industry, provide more jobs and make us less reliant on imports from abroad. However, we are clear: shale gas operations will only take place in a manner which is safe for the environment and local communities. Any company looking to develop shale will need to obtain all the necessary permissions, including planning and environmental permits, before hydraulic fracturing can be carried out.

Small Businesses: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support small business growth in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Margot James: Small businesses are vital to our economy and so it is important we do all we can to make the UK a great place to start and grow a business.Government has actively supported and invested in the creation of a network of Growth Hubs to provide businesses with tailored advice and support at the local level.In the West Midlands, including Coventry, this is delivered by six Local Enterprise Partnership led Growth Hubs. The Business Support helpline also provides information and guidance over the phone, via email, webchat and social media.To stimulate innovation and growth in the region, Innovate UK in 2016-17 committed almost £36.1m to 110 projects for SMEs based in the West Midlands.In addition, the soon to be launched Midlands Engine Investment Fund, aims to boost the region’s economy and support the growth ambitions of its smaller businesses. It will facilitate investment of over £250 million across the region to help SMEs to achieve their growth ambitions, revitalise local economies and create jobs.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 25 October 2016 to Question HL2367, on motor vehicles, if it remains his Department's policy to support all UK-based or manufacturers and ensure that their ability to export is not adversely affected when the UK leaves the EU.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Small Businesses: Coventry South

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support micro-enterprises in Coventry South constituency.

Margot James: British Business Bank programmes are supporting finance to smaller businesses, with one of the main programmes administered by the Start-Up Loans Company. As of 31st May 2017, there were 68 start-up loans worth £493,000 in the Coventry South constituency.Micro-enterprises in the Coventry South constituency have access to the Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub which can provide tailored advice and support. The Business Support helpline also provides information and guidance over the phone, via e-mail, webchat and social media.

Research: Finance

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in what year the Government expects to reach a total spend of three per cent of gross domestic product on research and development.

Joseph Johnson: Science, Research and Innovation will be at the heart of our Industrial Strategy and this Government has bold ambitions to significantly increase research and development and back industries of the future. The Government’s vision is to achieve R&D spending of 2.4% of GDP within ten years and 3% in the longer-term.

Industry

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to publish its response to the Building our Industrial Strategy consultation.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Renewable Energy: UK Trade with EU

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess the effect on the renewable energy sector of the UK leaving the EU without having agreed a trade deal with the EU.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: UK Trade with EU

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess the effect on the energy sector of the UK leaving the EU without having agreed a trade deal with the EU.

Richard Harrington: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Research: Finance

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on encouraging total public and private sector spending of three per cent of gross domestic product on research and development.

Joseph Johnson: This Government has set out its vision to meet R&D investment of 2.4% of GDP within ten years and 3% in the longer-term. Going forward, this ambition will be an important part of our Industrial Strategy and will require a concerted cross-government approach. We have already increased research and development investment by £4.7 billion over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21. This equates to an extra £2 billion per year by 2020-21 and is an increase of around 20% to total government R&D spending, more than any increase in any parliament since 1979. The new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), announced in November 2016, will back priority technologies where the UK has the potential to turn research strengths into a global industrial and commercial lead. The first wave of ISCF investment will be spent across six key challenges over the next 4 years and a variety of underpinning investments, driving progress in areas in which will support the industrial strategy. The ISCF is a UK wide fund for researchers and businesses across the UK.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Redundancy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of planned civilian redundancies within his Department on the operational capabilities of the armed forces.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to outsource any of its jobs and functions to the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian jobs and functions within his Department have been outsourced to the private sector in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence is critically reviewing all activities and functions undertaken by the civilian workforce. We will review and test, based on value for money assessments, how these activities and functions could best be done in the future. The achievement of the Department's objectives, including the delivery of front-line operational capabilities, remains our priority. Alternative delivery models will be evaluated.The Department outsourced 4,090 staff between Financial Year (FY) 2012-13 and FY2016-17 (inclusive), broken down by year as follows: FY2012-13 (380 staff); FY2013-14 (zero staff); FY2014-15 (2,355 staff); FY2015-16 (1,130 staff) and FY2016-17 (225 staff).

Military Aircraft: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to procure a new platform to enable the RAF to maintain its wide-area surveillance capability after the Sentinel R1 fleet is retired in 2021.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans that the proposed RAF P-8A fleet take over overland surveillance roles currently performed by the Sentinel R1.

Harriett Baldwin: Work is on-going in the Ministry of Defence, led by Joint Forces Command, to determine the detailed requirements underpinning any future overland capability programme.A number of space-based, manned and unmanned aircraft solutions, including the development of a sensor for integration onto P-8A, are being explored as part of this work.

Gurkhas: Foreign Nationals

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of recruiting foreign personnel into the Brigade of Gurkhas in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: The historic source of the Gurkhas goes back to 1815. The Brigade has conducted itself with distinction worldwide as part of Army operations.The full cost of recruiting Nepali citizens into the Brigade of Gurkhas in each of the last five financial years (FY) is shown below:FY 2012-13 - £838,500.00FY 2013-14 - £898,400.00FY 2014-15 - £900,100.00FY 2015-16 - £972,000.00FY 2016-17 - £970,100.00These totals cover the complete costs to the British Army for running recruitment each year in Nepal, including military and civilian personnel, accommodation, medical, clothing, rations and transportation. These costs reflect the unique recruiting process conducted in Nepal.

Ministry of Defence: Fire and Rescue Services

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans are in place to outsource his Department's fire and rescue services on airfields and dockyards.

Mark Lancaster: A review determined that increased involvement of industry in Defence's fire and rescue capability would improve value for money whilst maintaining the protection of vital assets. The Ministry of Defence is currently running a single commercial competition for fire and rescue services considered suitable for delivery by industry, including HM Naval Base Clyde and a number of British Armed Forces airfields. The aim is to award a contract by early 2018.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Government plans to invest £178 billion in new military equipment over the next 10 years.

Harriett Baldwin: Yes, the Defence Equipment Plan 2016 laid out the Government's plan to invest £178 billion in new equipment and support over the period 2016 to 2026.

Defence: Expenditure

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Government plans to increase defence spending by 0.5 per cent more than inflation every year.

Sir Michael Fallon: The Government has committed to increasing the Defence budget by at least half a per cent above inflation every year of this Parliament and continuing to meet the NATO guideline to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence until 2022.

Type 26 Frigates

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Type 26 frigates announced on 2 July 2017 will be constructed with British steel.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with UK industry on the capability of British suppliers and producers to meet procurement needs for Type 26 frigates.

Harriett Baldwin: Responsibility for sourcing steel for the Type 26 Frigates rests with BAE Systems as the contractor. In accordance with Government guidelines on the procurement of steel, the company has run a competition to select a supplier of steel for the programme, and an announcement is expected shortly.UK steel suppliers have been strongly encouraged to bid in line with the Government's Procurement Policy Notice concerning the procurement of steel for major Government projects. This pipeline is published on GOV.UK. The MOD will continue to carry out early market engagement and forecast our steel requirements for shipbuilding through the UK Government Steel Pipeline.We expect that around 35 per cent of the steel required to build each Type 26 Frigate will be sourced from UK suppliers in Scotland and Scunthorpe; approximately 1,400 tonnes per ship. For some grades of plate steel needed for the Type 26 Frigates the combination of thickness, size and flatness specifications means that the steel cannot be sourced in its entirety in the UK.

North Korea: Nuclear Weapons

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential threat of North Korea's possession of nuclear missiles to the UK.

Mark Lancaster: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has repeatedly stated its intention to develop and deploy nuclear weapons and has conducted ballistic missile tests in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. The Department regularly updates its assessments of such programmes and the threat they may pose, but these assessments are not made public. We condemn the DPRK's continued actions and maintain our position, urging the country to comply with its international obligations and refrain from further actions in contravention of UN Security Council Resolutions.

Navy: Officers

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy officers are attached to the British High Commission in Canberra.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Australian Navy personnel are on exchange tours with the Royal Navy.

Mark Lancaster: Under the current Royal Navy/Royal Australian Navy personnel exchange programme, 12 Royal Navy Officers are attached to the British High Commission in Canberra. These Officers are based in different Australian Navy ships and shore establishments. 11 Australian personnel are on exchange tours with the Naval Service.

Defence: Procurement

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the effect on defence procurement of the UK leaving the EU without having a trade deal with the EU.

Harriett Baldwin: The existing scheme of UK procurement rules, which implement the EU public procurement directives, will be preserved under the Repeal Bill when the UK leaves the European Union, with relevant adjustments necessary to ensure legal operability. This will give legal certainty and continuity to businesses, contracting authorities, and employees, on day one of Exit.We will use opportunities offered by our exit from the EU to carefully consider longer-term options for the UK's defence procurement rules. However it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance of the negotiating process, and we cannot provide further details about the possible outcomes at this stage.

Counter-terrorism

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what financial resources the Government committed to support the (a) civilian and (b) military components of Operation Temperer following the activation of that operation on 23 May 2017.

Mark Lancaster: We are currently compiling the costs of Operation TEMPERER in conjunction with the Home Office. Once complete a full response will follow, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.

Apache AH-64 Helicopters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects his Department to complete the order for all 50 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence is buying 50 Apache AH-64E helicopters from the US Government under a Foreign Military Sales arrangement. The US has ordered the first 38 of the UK helicopters as part of its own larger purchase, under a multi-year contract with Boeing. This ensures we can take advantage of economies of scale and secure best value for the UK taxpayer, while procuring a vital capability for the UK. We expect the remaining 12 helicopters to be incorporated within the contract by the end of the year.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Fire Prevention

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Queen's Speech 2017, how much financial support the Government will provide to councils where urgent fire-safety checks have identified buildings as high risk; and what is the application process for that support.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 27 June 2017



Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Fire Prevention: High Rise Flats

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether additional resources will be made available to local authorities to help ensure the safety of tenants living in high-rise residential buildings.

Alok Sharma: Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Social Rented Housing: Fire Prevention

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to revise fire safety procedures for social housing.

Alok Sharma: On 22 June we provided advice to all social landlords about interim safety measures that should be taken immediately where it has been determined that a building has Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding that is unlikely to be compliant with the requirements of the current Building Regulations.This advice was provided by an independent panel of experts and takes account of the three emerging findings from the Metropolitan Police investigation into Grenfell Tower. We also announced a new independent expert advisory panel to advise on any immediate measures that can be put in place to make buildings safe (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expert-panel-appointed-to-advise-on-immediate-safety-action-following-grenfell-fire).

Fire Prevention

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he made any private assurances to the Chair of the Local Government Association on action and funding from the Government to ensure fire safety in the wake of the fire at Grenfell Tower; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: My Department has held a number of meetings following the Grenfell Tower fire. Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department intends to offer additional funding to local authorities to enable them to fit sprinkler systems retroactively in housing blocks.

Alok Sharma: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Written Question 1132.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department intends to offer additional funding to local authorities to enable them to remove cladding that is deemed unsafe from housing blocks.

Alok Sharma: Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Local Government Finance: Housing

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assurance he can give councils that funding for ongoing housing programmes funded from the housing revenue account will not be compromised by necessary fire safety works.

Alok Sharma: Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Fire Prevention: Rented Housing

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what timeframe the Government has provided to (a) local authorities, (b) housing associations and (c) private landlords to undertake fire safety inspections; and what additional resources the Government plans to provide for those inspections.

Alok Sharma: In his statement of 26 June, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government urged those authorities and landlords which have not yet submitted samples to do so urgently.Where Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding is present on social housing over 18 metres in height, the Government is providing testing for local authorities and housing associations free of charge. If the screening tests indicate that such cladding would not meet the limited combustibility requirements of the current Building Regulations guidance, local authorities housing associations and the fire and rescue service will determine the best course of action, communicating closely with residents. Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of a building, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent them going ahead.

Fire Prevention

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what financial support the Government plans to provide to local authorities who have evacuated residents from buildings following the failure of aluminium composite material tests.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 03 July 2017



It is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that people are safe through funding fire safety improvements. Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Fire Prevention

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what financial support the Government plans to provide to residents affected by forced evacuations from buildings that fail aluminium composite materials tests.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 03 July 2017



If evacuation is required it will be the responsibility of the landlord to make the necessary arrangements to support residents. Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide funding to councils to test cladding for fire safety on high rise flats which do not have aluminium composite material panels.

Alok Sharma: We are prioritising testing on buildings where people sleep overnight, which have Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding, and are of a certain height. Where appropriate, organisations are working with the fire and rescue service locally to put in place precautionary safety checks and measures.

Housing: Fire Extinguishers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the government will ensure that it fully funds any change in policy on retrofitting sprinklers in (a) local authority housing, (b) other housing used by public bodies and (c) NHS property.

Alok Sharma: Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social houing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of business rate increases on the financial sustainability of non-maintained childcare and early-education providers.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 04 July 2017



The Department for Communities and Local Government has not undertaken an assessment of the revaluation on the financial sustainability of non-maintained childcare and early-education providers. However, rateable values of nursery premises are taken into account in the amount of early years funding provided to local authorities for them to distribute to providers.At the Budget, the Government announced a £435 million package of support to help those businesses most in need of support following the revaluation. It included £110 million to support rate-payers losing small business rates relief and rural rate relief as a result of the 2017 revaluation, as well as a £300 million discretionary relief fund for local authorities to help local businesses. Additionally, if a non-maintained childcare and early-education provider is also a registered charity for business rates purposes it may also qualify for relief.

Fire Prevention

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much additional funding will he make available to local authorities and housing groups to resolve fire safety issues discovered following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Housing: Leasehold

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the practice of developers selling new houses on a leasehold rather than a freehold basis; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to investigate the fairness of charges levied by housebuilders and others on home owners seeking to buy the freehold of their property; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: Developers and housebuilders who sell the freehold of a house to a leaseholder after a sale, or who sell on the freehold interest to a third party may not be working in leaseholders’ best interests. Leaseholders wanting to purchase the freehold interest can find that they are faced with higher costs, along with significant legal costs, where they want to purchase the freehold after the point of sale. The Housing White Paper highlighted the Government's intention to improve fairness and transparency for these leaseholders.

Homelessness

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homeless people in (a) Telford and (b) the UK.

Mr Marcus Jones: DCLG publishes regular statistics on statutory homelessness. These are published at a local authority level. These latest statistics can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness.The definitions of statutory homelessness differ in the devolved administrations so no aggregated UK total is available. Devolved administration statistics can be found at the links below:Scotland: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/RefTables Wales: http://gov.wales/docs/statistics/2015/150923-statutory-homelessness-legislative-changes-27-april-2015-en.pdfNorthern Ireland: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/topics/housing-statistics

Council Tax: Valuation

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans to reform the process for council tax banding appeals.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government has no plans to reform the process for council tax banding appeals. Taxpayers already have six months from becoming liable for council tax on a property to submit a proposal challenging the council tax band.

Housing: Construction

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of successful applications to the Home Building Fund have been submitted by builders delivering less than 100 units per year since the introduction of that fund.

Alok Sharma: The £3 billion Home Building Fund provides long and short term loan finance to build the homes this country needs. To date the fund has allocated £1.181 billion (40 per cent) to successful applicants.Of the £1 billion short term fund £0.445 billion (44 per cent) has been allocated to successful applicants. The proportion of schemes which will be delivered by small and medium sized builders is 70 per cent. Of which, nearly 90 per cent of these sites have fewer than 100 homes.

Fire Regulations

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the clarity of the guidance set out in paragraph 12.7 of Approved Document B on materials which can be used above and below 18 metres in high rise buildings.

Alok Sharma: The Coroner’s report into Lakanal House recommended simplifying the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B). This work was being progressed. Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to look at wider issues.

Fire Prevention

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to amend the Building Regulations and the guidance contained in Approved Document B on fire safety.

Alok Sharma: The Coroner’s report into Lakanal House recommended simplifying the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B). This work was being progressed. Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to look at wider issues.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department is giving to local authorities on the removal of cladding from high-rise buildings.

Alok Sharma: On the 30 June 2017, we published a note that sets out the immediate actions that landlords should be taking if it is determined that the insulation with Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) is unlikely to be compliant with current Building Regulations guidance. That note can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing

Department for Communities and Local Government: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Mr Marcus Jones: The government continues to encourage more people to go online, so they can access the guidance and services they need – as well as reducing the cost of public services. The department has continued to reduce its paper consumption. This has been achieved through better print facilities and a continuing programme of IT improvements which are helping to decrease our reliance on paper.The department seeks to digitise wherever possible and actively works with partners across government to adhere to best practice in its media and external communications and forms.Details of the department’s performance in reducing its paper consumption were published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report – April 2015 to March 2016 on 20 April 2017.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2015-to-2016-annual-report

Fire Prevention: Manchester City Council

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding and other support his Department has offered to Manchester City Council to carry out fire safety checks on high-rise buildings.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



Where Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding is present on social housing over 18 metres in height, the Government is providing testing for local authorities and housing associations free of charge. If the screening tests indicate that such cladding would not meet the limited combustibility requirements of the current Building Regulations guidance, local authorities, housing associations and the fire and rescue service will determine the best course of action, communicating closely with residents. Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of removing and reapplying cladding from tower blocks that have failed safety checks on the housing reserves of social landlords that acquired those tower blocks through stock transfer.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



Where work is necessary to ensure the fire safety of social housing, we will ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.

Social Rented Housing: Insulation

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral contribution of 3 July 2017, Official Report, column 924, on guidance to local authorities and housing associations, what specific guidance has been given in respect of insulation.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



The Department wrote to local authority and housing associations landlords on 18 June, setting out immediate actions that should be taken to identify residential tower blocks over 18 metres in height with aluminium type external cladding. The Department wrote again on 19 June to set out the process they should follow to submit samples of aluminium composite material cladding for testing.The Secretary of State wrote on 22 June to update all Members of Parliament on the Grenfell Tower disaster and the action we are taking in response, and he will provide regular updates as further information is released; these are being made available on the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/grenfell-towerOn 30 June, we published a note at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing This note confirms the advice in those letters to local authorities, with further specific information about the tests being carried out.On 6 July we published details of further tests to be carried out as the next step in helping landlords to ensure the safety of their buildings. These large scale tests will help establish how different types of ACM panels in combination with different types of insulation behave in a fire. Further detail about the next testing stage can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expert-panel-recommends-further-tests-on-cladding-and-insulation

Fire Prevention

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of re-cladding on the combustibility of insulation.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



On 6 July we published details of further tests to be carried out as the next step in helping landlords to ensure the safety of their buildings. These large scale tests will help establish how different types of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels in combination with different types of insulation behave in a fire. Further detail about the next testing stage can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expert-panel-recommends-further-tests-on-cladding-and-insulation

Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to conduct combustibility tests on exterior cladding other than aluminium composite material cladding.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many members of staff from each contributing Department will form part of the team supporting the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: Fire Prevention

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 612, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of fire safety inspections in residential buildings where property ownership is divided among a large number of private sector landlords and owner-occupiers.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

UK Trade With EU

Matthew Pennycook: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the UK economy of the UK leaving the EU's Common Commercial Policy and Common External Tariff without a customs agreement between the UK and the EU.

Elizabeth Truss: The government has undertaken a significant amount of work to assess the economic impact of leaving the EU. This is part of our continued programme of rigorous and extensive analytical work on a range of scenarios on a sector by sector basis. We want to conclude a deep and special partnership with the European Union. This includes pursuing a new customs agreement that allows for the freest possible trade in goods and services between the UK and EU member states.

Economic Situation: Immigration

Matthew Pennycook: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the economy of reducing net immigration to the tens of thousands.

Stephen Barclay: The Treasury has not made any formal assessment of the effect on the economy of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands.

UK Trade With EU

Matthew Pennycook: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect on the UK economy of a customs agreement with the EU that includes participation in the Common External Tariff and Common Commercial Policy.

Elizabeth Truss: The government has undertaken a significant amount of work to assess the economic impact of leaving the EU. This is part of our continued programme of rigorous and extensive analytical work on a range of scenarios on a sector by sector basis.We want to conclude a deep and special partnership with the European Union. This includes pursuing a new customs agreement that allows for the freest possible trade in goods and services between the UK and EU member states.

Revenue and Customs: Location

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral evidence from the Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to the Public Accounts Committee on the HMRC estate on 25 January 2017, Question 14, HC891, which locations HMRC initially considered as possible regional centres.

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral evidence from the Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to the Public Accounts Committee on the HMRC estate on 25 January 2017, Q14, HC 891, which eight principles HMRC used to determine the location of its regional centres.

Chris Law: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral evidence from the Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to the Public Accounts Committee on the HMRC estate on 25 January 2017, Question 4, HC891, on what date ministerial approval was given for HMRC's strategic outline case for regional centres; and if he will make a statement before the summer recess.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) established a clear set of eight location principles to determine the location of its regional centres. These were:· Sustainable large sites – having the capacity to hold all HMRC’s requirements for the region in a single building, ideally accommodating no less than 1,500 staff.· Talent pipeline – offering access to a pipeline of future talent, with the skills HMRC needs, for example, close to universities and colleges.· Single location career paths – offering the chance to build careers and skills to a senior level in a number of professions in a single location without the need to move.· Catchment for a mix of business activity – the right grouping of existing teams to allow a diverse mix of business activities to be brought together in the same place.· Digital infrastructure – having high capacity, high speed digital infrastructure and mobile networks to benefit customers and staff.· Facilities for HMRC’s people – access to good housing, schools and recreational facilities, so HMRC can recruit and retain staff.· Market rates- delivering good value for money in property and labour costs.· Robust long-term infrastructure – locations with the right infrastructure for the long term such as strong transport links within the region and nationally.HMRC values its people and wants as many as possible to move with the work to the regional centres. In addition to the eight location principles, it looked at where its staff live and initially assessed more than 40 of its existing medium to large sized locations against the principles as possible regional centres. These included: Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Chatham, Chesterfield, Dover, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Grimsby, Harwich, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Maidstone, Manchester, Newcastle, Northampton, Nottingham, Peterborough, Peterlee, Preston, Plymouth, Reading, Redruth, Sheffield, Shipley, Solent (including Portsmouth), Southend-on-Sea, Stockton-on –Tees, Taunton, Telford, Workington, Worthing, Wrexham. For areas where a particular town was part of a conurbation, the conurbation was assessed as part of those listed above, for example Sunderland and Washington as part of Newcastle. HMRC’s Programme Business Case has received approval from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

European Investment Bank

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much financial support the European Investment Bank has contributed to the UK economy in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: The EIB publishes details of all their projects on their website. Financing details of all projects for each of the past 10 years can be found in the link below http://www.eib.org/projects/loan/list/?region=1&country=GB

European Investment Bank

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to maintain funding for British businesses following the UK's withdrawal from the EU and the possible loss of investment from the European Investment Bank.

Elizabeth Truss: As the Chancellor announced in his Mansion House speech, he continues to engage with the EIB. Alongside these discussions, to ensure that investment finance continues to be available in the UK after EU exit, the UK Guarantee Scheme has been broadened to include construction guarantees and the British Business Bank will raise the limits on the amount it can invest in venture capital funds from 33% up to 50%. The BBB will also be able to bring forward some of the £400m additional investment that was announced at the Autumn Statement.

Credit Reference Agencies: VAT

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the merits of granting credit reference agencies and authorised finance providers access to financial data in the VAT register.

Mel Stride: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 allows HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to share only non-financial data on VAT registered businesses. HMRC is working to allow the secure sharing of VAT registration data with carefully vetted applicants to increase the availability of credit to small businesses.

Small Businesses: Loans

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support challenger banks who have entered or are looking to enter the small and medium-sized enterprise lending market.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many new entrant banks offering finance for small and medium-sized enterprises were established in each of the last five years; and how many of those banks continue to offer such finance.

Stephen Barclay: The information requested on the number of new entrant banks offering finance for small and medium-sized enterprises is not held by the Treasury. Responsibility for the authorisation of new banks rests with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The PRA’s Annual Competition Report for 2017 states that since its formation in April 2013, the PRA has authorised 25 new banks in total. The report can be found at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/annualreport/2017/compreport.pdf The Government has taken a number of steps to support challenger banks. This includes: supporting the PRA and FCA to set up the New Bank Start-up Unit to help prospective new banks enter the market and through the early days of authorisation; establishing competition objectives for the FCA and PRA; and launching the finance platforms scheme to help small businesses whose finance applications have been declined by their bank explore alternative finance options, including challenger banks.

European Investment Bank

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will recoup the capital invested by the Government in the European Investment Bank when the UK leaves the EU.

Elizabeth Truss: The question concerns the future relationship between the UK and the EIB. This is something that will be determined as part of the negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU and the Government will not be giving a running commentary on these negotiations. However, the Prime Minister has made clear that as part of the negotiations on the UK exiting the EU, we will seek to determine a fair settlement of the UK’s rights and obligations as a departing member state.

Construction: EU Grants and Loans

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the financial value of EU construction projects which will not be completed until after the UK leaves the EU.

Elizabeth Truss: HM Treasury does not have estimates on the value of all EU construction projects. However, the government regularly publishes a UK assessment of planned investment in infrastructure across the public and private sectors in the UK. Last published in December 2016, this document contains over 700 projects and programmes with a total value of more than £500 billion.

Child Benefit: Minority Groups

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to introduce a special circumstance dispensation for people from religious minorities in relation to the payment of child benefit for a third or subsequent child.

Elizabeth Truss: The exceptions to the policy to limit support to a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credit were debated by the UK Parliament during the passage of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. The government’s view is that the exceptions legislated for in Child Tax Credit cover the circumstances where parents or carers are not in the same position to make choices about the number of children in their family as others are, or who are fulfilling an important social function in providing homes for children who cannot be looked after by their own parents. Claimants will still be entitled to an additional amount in Child Tax Credit in respect of any disabled children, regardless of the total number of children in the household. Child Benefit will also continue to be paid regardless of family size, as the basis of the government’s contribution towards the cost of bringing up a child.

Council Tax: Valuation

Dr David Drew: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals have there been for council tax banding in (a) Stroud District and (b) England in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: Table 1 and 2 show the numbers of council tax challenges received in (a) Stroud District and (b) England for each of the last five financial years where figures have been published: Table 1: Challenges received for Stroud District  Band ReviewsProposalsAppealsTotal2011-125050-1002012-1313070-2002013-14150100102602014-1560110-1702015-16509010140 Table 2: Challenges received for England  Band ReviewsProposalsAppealsTotal2011-1255,97020,4702,10078,5402012-1357,48021,0102,07080,5502013-1434,54029,6902,66066,8902014-1516,09031,2602,54049,9002015-1612,56033,6802,36048,600  Counts are rounded to the nearest 10 with counts of 0 being reported as 0 and count fewer than 5 reported as negligible and denoted by '-'.  The VOA use three definitions corresponding to three types of council tax challenge:Band review - A band review is carried out when a potential inaccuracy is brought to the attention of the VOA. The taxpayer must explain why they consider their band to be incorrect. The VOA will investigate the matter and inform the taxpayer of the outcome. Proposal - A proposal is a formal challenge to a council tax banding. There are limited circumstances under which a proposal can be accepted. The VOA will review the band and provide the taxpayer with a written decision. Appeal - Where a valid proposal has been made, a council tax payer has the right to appeal against the VOA's decision on the proposal to the independent Valuation Tribunal.

Taxation: Land

Dr David Drew: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of sums received from land taxation in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: Statistics on receipts from the Stamp Duty Land Tax and Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings, by financial year, are published in the ‘HMRC Tax Receipts and National Insurance Contributions for the UK’ publication. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk

Treasury: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Andrew Jones: The government is committed to providing services that are digital by default - reducing paper and manual processing, reducing cost and improving user satisfaction. HM Treasury is currently reducing the manual processing of paper in finance and HR processes as part of a project to replace our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

Foreign Exchange: Small Businesses

Andrew Bowie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 69488, whether the results of research into the impact of pricing structures on consumer understanding of foreign currency transaction fees will inform forthcoming payment services regulations.

Stephen Barclay: In its Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 69488, the Government stated that it was conducting research on the effects of transparency in overseas money transfers (involving foreign exchange) on consumer decisions. This research will help to inform the Government's response to the consultation on draft regulations for the implementation of the Second Payment Services Directive. This response will be published shortly.

Treasury: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in his Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of the Department.

Andrew Jones: No protected disclosures were made in HM Treasury during this period.

Help to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the projected annual cost is of bonuses due to holders of Help-to-Buy and Lifetime ISAs for each financial year from 2017-18 onwards.

Stephen Barclay: An update to the costings for the Help to Buy: ISA can be found in the supporting documents to the Autumn Statement 2016. The expected cost of the government bonus payments through the Help to Buy: ISA is £1.2 billion from 2016-17 to 2019-20.The expected cost of government bonus payments through the Lifetime ISA is as follows:£170m in 2017/18£330m in 2018/19£580m in 2019/20£830m in 2020/21

High Rise Flats: Insurance

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the insurance industry after the Grenfell Tower fire to ensure that residents of other tower blocks (a) can take out building or contents insurance and (b) do not pay more as a result of the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Stephen Barclay: The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms which aim to ensure consumers are treated fairly. The Chancellor has discussed the Grenfell tower disaster with leading industry representatives to get an understanding of how they may respond, and any possible impact on insurance for residents. The industry have said that it is too early to properly understand the implications, so have not yet made any changes to their underwriting models or pricing strategies. The Treasury has also been in contact with leading insurance companies and has received assurances that no individuals in tower blocks have been refused access to home insurance as a result of the fire at Grenfell Tower. Officials remain in regular contact with the insurance industry to understand how it may shape their view of fire risk. The Treasury will continue to monitor the situation and will investigate this matter further if it sees evidence of customers in tower blocks being treated unfairly.

Business: Bank Services

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of eligible businesses have been referred to designated finance platforms under the Bank Referral Scheme since its implementation.

Stephen Barclay: Information on the eligible businesses that have been referred to designated finance platforms under the Bank Referral Scheme since its implementation will be published in due course.

Soft Drinks: Taxation

Justin Tomlinson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount his Department estimates will be raised from the soft drinks industry levy over the next five years.

Andrew Jones: As published in Table 2.2 of Budget 2017, the levy is expected to raise approximately £385m per year from April 2018. This is less than originally expected at Budget 2016, reflecting the OBRs judgement that producers will reformulate a higher proportion of their products towards lower sugar content. More information is available in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2017 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Consumer Price Index

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has discussed with the Governor of the Bank of England the recent rise in the Consumer Price Index; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: The Chancellor has regular discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on the economy. Maintaining price stability is the primary objective of the Monetary Policy Committee. This objective is defined as an inflation target of 2 per cent as measured by the twelve month increase in the Consumer Prices Index. Members of the Monetary Policy Committee are committed to transparency, publicly setting out their views of the outlook for the economy. The Committee publishes detailed forecasts for a range of economic variables in their quarterly Inflation Report, forecasting in May that average CPI inflation would fall to 2.4% in 2018 and 2.2% in 2019.

Public Sector: Pay

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the number of single parents who have been affected by the public sector one per cent pay cap.

Elizabeth Truss: This information is not held centrally.

Public Sector: Pay

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of inflation on public sector workers who have had their pay capped.

Elizabeth Truss: A range of factors are taken into consideration when formulating the government’s public sector pay policy including the impact on jobs, recruitment and retention, earnings in both the public and private sector and inflation. Government will continually assess that balance when considering public pay policy. The Government has introduced the National Living Wage and committed to raising the personal allowance further, to £12,500, by the end of this Parliament. By 2017-18, 1.3 million people on the lowest incomes will have been taken out of income tax altogether, and a typical taxpayer will pay over £1,000 less income tax, compared to 2010-11.

Office of Tax Simplification: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many secondments there have been from (a) the Office of Tax Simplification to placements outside of Government and (b) from outside Government to the Office of Tax Simplification since July 2012.

Mel Stride: The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is an independent Office of the Treasury established on a permanent, statutory basis through the Finance Act 2016. Its objective is to provide independent advice to the Chancellor on simplifying the tax system. In the course of the OTS meeting this objective there have been no secondments from the OTS outside Government and nine secondments from outside Government to the OTS since 2012. All of these secondments were on a part-time basis. This includes one part-time secondment in the current financial year (2017-18).

Railways: Finance

Nic Dakin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether, over the course of Control Period 5, the cost of delivery for UK railways is projected to exceed the original funding assumptions for enhancements.

Elizabeth Truss: We are investing more than £40 billion in Network Rail, including £15 billion of rail enhancements. In 2015 Sir Peter Hendy was asked to replan the programme to put it on a more sustainable footing, and following Sir Peter's review we have revised our approach to enhancements and the way we govern the programme to ensure that it is delivered within the fixed funding available. A key aspect of this approach is the ongoing assessment of investment decisions so that we deliver these improvements in a way that provides best value for taxpayers.

Productivity

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made any recent revisions to the UK's Productivity Plan.

Andrew Jones: The government continues to believe that raising productivity is the best route to driving growth and raising long run living standards, as set out in “Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation” - a plan for productivity growth in the UK. The government has since taken further steps, including the establishment of a National Productivity Investment Fund targeted at the productivity-critical areas of transport, R&D, housing and digital communications. It is also making sure that young people have the skills that British businesses need through the reform of the technical education system and the introduction of T-levels.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade aims to ensure that the primary route for export or investment support is digital. The Department continues to develop and extend the reach of digital services through great.gov.uk. Technology used by staff is also being upgraded to enable the use of cloud-based software that promotes simultaneous collaboration and seamless mobile working, and further drive productivity. The Digital team are also developing a new business relationship management system, which will encourage and enable staff to record business interactions digitally.

Department for International Trade: Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff have left or agreed settlements to leave his Department under (a) voluntary exit, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy since 1 November 2016; and how much compensation was paid in those cases.

Greg Hands: There have been no staff who left or had agreed settlements to leave the Department for International Trade under (a) voluntary exit, (b) voluntary redundancy or (c) compulsory redundancy since 1 November 2016.

Energy: Exports

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage businesses in the energy sector to take advantage of new export opportunities and international trade.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade (DIT) promotes trade and investment across the world and champions global free trade.This department's support is targeted where government can add most value. We prioritise our global export promotion activity by identifying the sector-market combinations that present the greatest opportunities to achieve the maximum impact and success. The Department currently has 23 High Value Campaigns across the energy sector including oil & gas, civil nuclear and renewables.UK Export Finance (UKEF) actively works with project sponsors to bring business to the UK. In the past 5 years, UKEF has provided over £2bn in support of energy exports.

Women and Equalities

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her letter of 29 June 2017 on funding for abortions for Northern Irish women in England, what assessment she has made of whether Northern Irish doctors will be able to (a) formally refer women to and (b) inform women of these abortion services in England without fear of prosecution.

Anne Milton: We are currently discussing with key stakeholders the details of the scheme. Further information will be available in due course.

Department for Transport

Parking: Disability

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of the enforcement of disabled parking bays in supermarket car parks.

Jesse Norman: My Department has made no assessment of enforcement of disabled parking bays in supermarket car parks. Privately owned car parks are not subject to the provisions of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the terms and conditions under which they are operated are a matter for the car park owner. Owners of private car parks are covered by the Equality Act, and as such they are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people have the same access to the service as non-disabled people.

Cycling: Accidents

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cycling fatalities there have been in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) England in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: The number of reported pedal cyclists killed in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) England in each of the last five years is given in following table: Number of reported pedal cyclists killed in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) England; 2011 - 2015 Year(a) Gloucestershire(b) England2011189201231052013191201411002015293

Department for Transport: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Mr John Hayes: The Department has aligned its Digital Strategy with the Government Digital Strategy and the Government Transformation Strategy.

Highways Agency: Ragwort

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Highways Agency is taking to remove ragwort from (a) roadsides and (b) other land from which it isresponsible.

Jesse Norman: Highways England’s policy is to remove any immediate threat of ragwort from roadsides and other land which it is responsible for in accordance with the Defra Code of practice. This includes such action as cutting back, herbicide treatment or uprooting.

Railways: Suicide

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people took their own life on the rail network in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Paul Maynard: There were a total of 252 suicides on the national rail network in 2015-16. The figure for 2016-17 has not been released, and is due to be published on 12 July 2017. This figure does not include suicides on London Underground or light rail and tram networks. Figures for these networks are published at the following link: http://www.orr.gov.uk/statistics/published-stats/statistical-releases.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Chechnya: LGBT People

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in Russia on recent reports of torture and murder of gay people in Chechnya.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK remains deeply concerned by the continued persecution of members of the LGBT community in Chechnya. Through a statement issued on 7 April by the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State, Baroness Anelay of St Johns, the UK was one of the first countries to express concern and call for a full and thorough investigation to be undertaken by the Russian authorities, to ensure that perpetrators of human rights abuses are brought to justice. I delivered a statement condemning the reports in the House of Commons following the tabling of an Urgent Question on 20 April. On 28 April, The Foreign Secretary co-signed a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov urging his government to investigate the reports and ensure the safety of activists and journalists investigating these abuses. UK officials in Russia continue to raise our concerns directly with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and are working closely with the relevant NGOs who are supporting victims fleeing the persecution in Chechnya.

Nigeria: Abduction

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Nigeria on a strategy to reduce the number of abductions in the north of that country.

Rory Stewart: We regularly discuss ongoing efforts to improve the security situation in northern Nigeria, including reducing the number of abductions, with the Nigeria government at the highest levels.The Nigerian armed forces have degraded Boko Haram and secured the release of some of those abducted, but the group remains a threat to security in the region. We are committed to supporting Nigeria and its neighbours in the fight against this barbaric group and call for the release of all remaining hostages.Tackling Boko Haram requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the political, economic and development problems in north east Nigeria, in addition to a security response. We are providing a substantial package of military, intelligence, development and humanitarian support to Nigeria. This includes a comprehensive range of training for the Nigerian armed forces and £5 million to support the Multinational Joint Task Force, the regional force against Boko Haram.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding his Department has made available to aid the peace process in Southern Sudan.

Rory Stewart: The British Government is deeply concerned by the dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan, and urges all sides to stop fighting and to allow humanitarian access to the people in need. At the same time we are working closely with regional and international partners, and the UN, to get a more inclusive political process back on track.The UK is the second largest bilateral humanitarian donor in South Sudan, spending £500 million between 2013 and December 2016. We have also deployed nearly 400 medical and engineering troops to the UN Mission in South Sudan to support their work protecting civilians, ensuring humanitarian access, and monitoring of human rights abuses.Through our Conflict Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), we also support a wide range of peace building efforts at a national and sub national level. The CSSF (at approximately £3.6 million this year in South Sudan) supports the monitoring and implementation of the current peace agreement, conflict and early warning and response, and work to support victims of sexual and gender based violence.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department is playing to help bring peace and stability to Southern Sudan.

Rory Stewart: The British Government is deeply concerned by the dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan, and urges all sides to stop fighting and to allow humanitarian access to the people in need. At the same time we are working closely with regional and international partners, and the UN, to get a more inclusive political process back on track.The UK is the second largest bilateral humanitarian donor in South Sudan, spending £500 million between 2013 and December 2016. We have also deployed nearly 400 medical and engineering troops to the UN Mission in South Sudan to support their work protecting civilians, ensuring humanitarian access, and monitoring of human rights abuses.Through our Conflict Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), we also support a wide range of peace building efforts at a national and sub-national level. The CSSF (at approximately £3.6 million this year in South Sudan) supports the monitoring and implementation of the current peace agreement, conflict and early warning and response, and work to support victims of sexual and gender based violence.

Uganda: Lord's Resistance Army

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department is giving to the Government of Uganda to help restrict the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army.

Rory Stewart: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not giving any assistance to the Government of Uganda to help restrict the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army.

Hong Kong: Anniversaries

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong.

Mark Field: I had a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador on 5 July. I discussed the strong bilateral relationship between the UK and China, and the importance of Hong Kong's 'One Country, Two Systems' as the basis for its continued success. I made clear the British Government's commitment to the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong, which is a formal Treaty between China and the UK. This declaration, registered with the UN, remains in force until July 2047. As a consequence, I did not accept the Chinese government's position that this was purely an historical document. Furthermore, as a guarantor of the Joint Declaration, the British Government also regards it as legitimate that it continues to issue a six-monthly report to the House on Hong Kong affairs.To mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Foreign Secretary issued a Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 29 June (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/).

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to meet Lord Patten of Barnes to discuss the democratic situation in Hong Kong.

Mark Field: ​I have no immediate plans to meet Rt Hon. Lord Patten of Barnes, and he has not requested a meeting.I held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador on 5 July in which I made clear that the British Government did not accept the position of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson that the Joint Declaration was an historical document of no practical significance. I stressed that on this basis, as a guarantor of the Joint Declaration, and the principle of 'one country, two system', the British Government regarded it as legitimate to continue to issue a six-monthly report to Parliament on Hong Kong affairs.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to moving paper-based services to digital or online services where this delivers efficiencies and provides simpler, secure services.For example, the FCO has made significant progress in digitising consular services amd reducing he time it takes to issue Emergency Travel Document.

Yemen: Foreign Relations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last spoke to the President of Yemen.

Alistair Burt: Our Ambassador to Yemen spoke to President Hadi on 5 July. The former Minister for the Middle East and Africa (Tobias Ellwood) spoke to President Hadi on 14 January.

Qatar: Foreign Relations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of relations between the UK and Qatar; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK continues to be deeply concerned by the tensions in the Gulf. The continuation of the dispute threatens the long-term security, stability and economies of States in the region and is in no-one's interests. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, other Ministers and I are engaging with all our partners in the Gulf to encourage de-escalation and to get firmly behind Kuwait’s mediation efforts. For the Gulf’s stability and security it is crucial that Gulf Cooperation Council unity is restored. All sides need to maintain a dialogue and find a resolution that everyone can support to restore Gulf Cooperation Council unity. The Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with his counterparts on next steps.

Qatar: Visits Abroad

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to visit Qatar.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary plans to visit Qatar and other regional partners in the near future.

Iraq: Reconstruction

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to ensure that historical and church buildings in Mosul are rebuilt.

Alistair Burt: The UK condemns Daesh's destruction of historical and religious buildings in Iraq, whether they be archaeological sites, churches, mosques or temples.The UK's Cultural Protection Fund of £30 million is designed to build capacity and capability in conflict zones in order to protect cultural heritage. Over £4 million from the fund has been awarded to Iraq across four projects. £3 million of this has been allocated to the British Museum's Rescue Archaeology Project. This project supplements the skills of a team of Iraqi national heritage sector workers to assess and record the condition of heritage sites and carry out rescue archaeology as a preliminary to reconstruction at sites damaged by Daesh. The first cohort of Iraqi archaeologists completed their training in 2016 and the second cohort completed their training earlier this year in London.The UK is also funding: the University of Manchester, working with the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage in Iraq, to survey and document the pre-Islamic Alexandrian city of Charax, as well as 14 other sites in Iraq; and the University of Liverpool to record, preserve and promote understanding of Yezidi heritage and identity.

Ascension Island: Aviation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received from the European Space Agency on the suspension of Voyager flights to and from Ascension Island and the re-routing of the South Atlantic airbridge.

Sir Alan Duncan: None.

Ascension Island: Aviation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2017 to Question 2035, what recent representations he has made to his US counterpart on bringing forward the refurbishment of Wideawake airfield on Ascension Island.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Ministry of Defence leads on the refurbishment of the Wideawake runway and as such I refer to the answer of 4 July 2017 provided by the Minister for the armed forces. I have made no representations to the US Secretary of State.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2017 to Question 69434, what response he has received from the Government of Saudi Arabia to his enquiry about the attack by a helicopter on a boat carrying Somali civilians off the coast of Yemen on 16 March 2017; whether he has yet been able to establish whether the helicopter that fired on that boat was made in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office contacted Saudi Arabia regarding this tragic incident. The Saudi Arabian authorities have been clear that they were not responsible for this incident.

British Overseas Territories: Companies

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which of the UK's Overseas Territories have a fully-functional register of beneficial ownership; and which of those territories does not have such a fully-functional register.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The creation of new central registers, or similarly effective systems has been completed in the following Overseas Territories with financial centres: British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and Gibraltar with legislation to underpin the registers passed by their respective legislatures. Full population of the registers with data will be taken forward as a priority in the coming months.The Turks and Caicos Islands has passed legislation, and its register is expected to be operational by the end of July.Anguilla has not yet established its register, and we continue to engage with the Anguillan authorities to take this forward.

Iran: Human Rights

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last discussed alleged human rights abuses in Iran with his Iranian counterpart.

Alistair Burt: Iran's human rights record continues to be of serious concern; this is why we have designated it as one of our Human Rights Priority Countries.The Foreign Secretary last discussed this issue when he met Foreign Minister Zarif in Munich in February. We will continue to raise concerns when appropriate.

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2017 to Question 2349, whether he or the Minister for Asia plan to seek a meeting with Lord Patten of Barnes to discuss (a) human rights and the state of democracy in Hong Kong and (b) the Joint British-Sino Declaration.

Mark Field: I have no immediate plans to meet Rt Hon. Lord Patten of Barnes, and he has not requested a meeting.I held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador on 5 July in which I made clear that the British Government did not accept the position of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson that the Joint Declaration was an historical document of no practical significance. I stressed that on this basis, as a guarantor of the Joint Declaration, and the principle of 'one country,one system', the British Government regarded it as legitimate to continue to issue a six-monthly report to Parliament on Hong Kong affairs.

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on recent statements made by the People's Republic of China that the Sino-British Joint Declaration no longer has any significance and is not binding on the People's Republic of China.

Mark Field: I held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador on 5 July in which I made clear that the British Government did not accept the position of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson that the Joint Declaration was an historical document of no practical significance. I stressed that on this basis, as a guarantor of the Joint Declaration, the British Government regarded it as legitimate to continue to issue a six-monthly report to Parliament on Hong Kong affairs.The Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Beijing also raised HMG concerns with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 5 July stressing that the Joint Declaration is a legally binding treaty, registered with the UN. As a co-signatory, the British Government is committed to monitoring its implementation closely.To mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Foreign Secretary issued a Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 29 June (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/).The UK will continue to make clear that Hong Kong's success and stability depend on its high degree of autonomy, independent judiciary and respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Joint Declaration, the Basic Law, and the One country, two system doctrine.

Karim and Maher Younes

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Palestinian Authority on the naming of a square in Jenin after Karim Younes and a square in Tulkarem after Maher Younes.

Alistair Burt: While we have not had any discussions on these specific issues with the Palestinian Authority (PA), a UK delegation led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Permanent Under-Secretary raised the issue of incitement with the PA on 21 June. The UK continues to urge the Palestinian leadership to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.

USA: Foreign Relations

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK-US relationship.

Boris Johnson: The UK has a special and enduring relationship with US, the broadest, deepest and strongest of all our bilateral relationships. There are many issues on which we agree and stand alongside each other. The closeness of our relationship also provides us with the opportunity to be honest where we disagree.

Cyprus: Politics and Government

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help facilitate a negotiated solution to the dispute over the status of Cyprus.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK continues to be a strong supporter of a settlement to reunite Cyprus. I am disappointed that the Conference on Cyprus in Switzerland ended without agreement. We are encouraging all the parties to reflect on the outcome and consider next steps.

Portugal: British Nationals Abroad

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Portuguese counterpart on the treatment of British nationals within the Portuguese judicial system.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary has not had any recent discussions with his Portuguese counterpart on the treatment of British nationals within the Portuguese judicial system.Consular officials regularly discuss individual prisoner cases with their counterparts in Portugal.

Commonwealth: Foreign Relations

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has to strengthen relations with Commonwealth partners.

Alistair Burt: Strengthening our relationship with the Commonwealth and all its members is a priority for the Government, as part of our vision for a Global Britain. We look forward to hosting an ambitious and dynamic Commonwealth Summit in 2018 and are working with Commonwealth partners to deliver it.

New Zealand: Diplomatic Relations

Colin Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK's diplomatic relations with New Zealand.

Mark Field: The UK has excellent diplomatic relations with New Zealand.

Department for International Development

St Helena: SA Airlink

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department expects that the air service contract between the St Helena Government and SA Airlink will be signed.

Alistair Burt: The tender process is managed by the St Helena Government. On 9 June, the St Helena Government announced that SA Airlink had been chosen as the preferred bidder for the provision of a scheduled commercial air service to St Helena. A formal announcement on the contract award will be made once the contract negotiations are complete.

St Helena: Aviation

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has requested reports from the Governor of St Helena on the outcomes of the air service tender.

Alistair Burt: DFID is regular contact with both the Governor of St Helena and her team working on the air services procurement.

St Helena: Aviation

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many responses the St Helena Government received on its tender for the air service.

Alistair Burt: The tender process for the air services contract is managed by the St Helena Government. As that process is still on-going and is therefore subject to commercial confidentiality until completed, we are unable to provide the detail requested at this time.

SA Airlink

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) discussions and (b) meetings her officials have had with SA Airlink on the future of the air service in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: DFID officials are in regular contact with the St Helena Government which leads the tender process for provision of a scheduled air service to St Helena. That process is ongoing and therefore meetings and discussions which have formed part of this process are subject to commercial confidentiality.

Humanitarian Aid: Education

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has in place to include disability in humanitarian education relief.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to focusing on reaching the most marginalised children; including those with disabilities. We have publicly committed; to ensure all educational construction directly funded by DFID is fully accessible; and to work with partners to improve data on children with disabilities and special educational needs, both in- and out-of-education.For example in the Middle East and North Africa we are working closely with partners to identify children with disabilities and to understand their needs. In Jordan we have trained more than 11,000 teachers, supervisors and administrators on how to deliver effective reading and maths instruction including skills to identify and assess children with a disability in their classroom. In Lebanon, through the Ministry of Education, we are supporting teacher training, differentiated learning and other measures to create more inclusive school environments, as well as tracking results around referral of children and youth with special needs.

Department for International Development: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in her Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of the Department.

Rory Stewart: DFID has had 10 protected disclosures made of which 2 were found to be valid as shown in the table below: YearProtected Disclosures madeValid2014/152 2015/16512016/1731 No staff member has alleged detriment or left DFID as a result of the disclosure.

Africa: Arts

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support creative industries across Africa.

Rory Stewart: As set out in DFID’s Economic Development Strategy, which I launched earlier this year, we are helping African countries to improve their investment climates so that new industries can flourish. This includes tackling constraints on start-ups, job creation and investment which will help the creative industries along with other emerging businesses in Africa to succeed.

Department for Education

Teachers: Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on a national retraining scheme for teachers.

Nick Gibb: In the 2017 Spring Budget, £5 million was allocated to increase the number of schemes in the public and private sector for people returning to work after time out of paid employment. The Government Equalities Office is leading on this, and proposals will be announced in due course.

Schools: Admissions

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Government has made in strengthening the (a) rights of parents of summer-born children to defer the year of their child's entry to school and (b) right for a child to remain in the same academic year irrespective of changes in school or local authority; and when the Government plans to consult on proposed changes to the Admission Code.

Nick Gibb: We are concerned that some summer born children, whose parents opt to defer entry, may be missing the reception year where the essential teaching of early reading and arithmetic takes place. We are giving careful consideration to how we might make any changes. Further information will be available in due course.

Education: Assessments

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has published to ensure examination bodies take a flexible approach when religious observance prevents candidates from taking exams on particular dates.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Faith Schools: Inspections

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has provided for Ofsted inspectors in ensuring that inspections consider the designated character of faith schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not provide guidance for Ofsted inspectors. Ofsted is a separate Department and this is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector.Ofsted’s approach to inspection is set out in its published framework and handbooks.

Pupils: Tatton

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the projected (a) cash and (b) per pupil funding will be for schools in Tatton constituency in each of the next three years.

Nick Gibb: We recently consulted on a national funding formula for schools. We believe that the current funding arrangements are unfair and we remain committed to changing them. We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation, which we are analysing in detail. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. Until then, we are unable to confirm the funding each school will receive in future years.

Stockton Wood School

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Stockton Wood Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Hunts Cross Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St Christopher's Catholic Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Middlefield Community Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Holy Family Catholic Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Banks Road County Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Enterprise South Liverpool Academy in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Garston Church of England Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St. Julie's Catholic High School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Much Woolton Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Bishop Martin C.E. Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St Ambrose Catholic Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Woolton Primary School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Gilmour Junior School in  Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St Austin's Catholic Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Booker Avenue Junior School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St Francis Xavier's College in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St Andrew the Apostle Catholic Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Halewood Academy in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Yew Tree Community Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Halewood CE Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St. Mark's Catholic Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Finch Woods Academy in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Belle Vale Community Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Norman Pannell Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding St Gregory's Catholic Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Calderstone's School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much core revenue funding Springwood Heath Primary School in Garston and Halewood constituency received for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18; and how much funding that school is planned to receive for (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Nick Gibb: The Department primarily allocates revenue funding at local authority level.The schools block allocation for individual schools for the 2016-17 financial year are published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2016-to-2017.Further information can be found in the attached table.Individual school allocations for 2017-18 will be published later this year. The formulae that local authorities have used to distribute funding to schools this year are published at:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-block-funding-formulae-2017-to-2018.We recently consulted on a national funding formula for schools. We believe that the current funding arrangements are unfair and we remain committed to changing them.We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation, which we are analysing in detail. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. Until then, we are unable to confirm the funding each school will receive in future years.



2016-17 core revenue funding for schools
(PDF Document, 112.5 KB)

Schools

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish a Green Paper on schools policy; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government published a Green Paper on Schools that work for everyone on 12 September 2016, setting out a number of proposals to increase the number of good school places. The Department will provide further information on the consultation in due course.

Schools: Capital Investment

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the schools budget has been spent on capital expenditure in each of the last seven years.

Nick Gibb: The Department provides capital and revenue funding for schools. The main sources of revenue funding are the dedicated schools grant (DSG) and pupil premium, which fund the ongoing costs of running a school. The main sources of capital funding are: allocations for condition and basic need to fund the building and maintenance of schools and school places; the Priority School Building programme; free schools and legacy programmes including Building Schools for the Future. Revenue funding can also be used for capital purposes. The following table shows the total revenue and capital funding allocated to local authorities and schools in each of the last seven years.   DSG and pupil premiumTotal schools capital22010-11£31.2 billion£6.2 billion2011-12£37.2 billion1£4.9 billion2012-13£38.0 billion£4.3 billion2013-14£39.9 billion£4.0 billion2014-15£41.2 billion£4.2 billion2015-16£42.6 billion£4.5 billion2016-17£43.1 billion£5.3 billion31. £4.9 billion of additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.2. Capital figures include basic need and condition allocations and actual expenditure for other programmes.3.Budgeted expenditure and allocations. Subject to final expenditure outturns.

Schools: Admissions

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to update her Department's guidance on summer-born children: school admission.

Nick Gibb: We are concerned that some summer born children, whose parents opt to defer entry may be missing the reception year where the essential teaching of early reading and arithmetic takes place. We are giving careful consideration to how we might make any changes. Further information will be available in due course.

Schools: Tatton

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that no school in Tatton constituency gets a reduction in (a) cash and (b) per pupil funding in each of the next five years.

Nick Gibb: This Government will continue to work to ensure that every child has the opportunity to attend a good school and that all schools are fairly funded. The core schools budget has been protected in real terms since 2010 and is set to rise from £41 billion in 2017-18 to over £42 billion in 2019-20 with increasing pupil numbers. We are considering the more than 25,000 responses we received to the National Funding Formula consultation, and will publish our response in due course.

Schools: Barnsley East

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the new school funding formula on each school in Barnsley East constituency.

Nick Gibb: We recently consulted on a national funding formula for schools. We believe that the current funding arrangements are unfair and we remain committed to changing them.We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation, which we are analysing in detail. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. We are unable to confirm the funding each school will receive in future years.

Music: Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding was allocated to Music Education Hubs, by NUTS1 Territorial Units for Statistics for each year for which information is available.

Nick Gibb: Music hub allocations for financial years 2012 to 2018 are shown in the table below at regional level.Region2012-13*2013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18NORTH EAST£4,630,090£3,984,193£2,867,978£3,694,678£3,665,778£3,661,419NORTH WEST£10,740,493£8,970,650£8,069,841£10,402,339£10,405,255£10,395,497YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER£8,350,274£6,935,045£5,946,810£7,720,750£7,711,292£7,698,074EAST MIDLANDS£5,667,357£4,916,788£4,952,091£6,415,320£6,408,040£6,394,915WEST MIDLANDS£9,019,523£7,412,331£6,576,074£8,505,630£8,506,918£8,529,109EAST OF ENGLAND£7,951,238£6,729,946£6,353,603£8,223,572£8,223,823£8,221,605LONDON£10,851,646£9,138,180£8,964,396£11,645,094£11,694,476£11,732,347SOUTH EAST£11,299,122£9,444,750£8,910,121£11,506,576£11,505,665£11,490,422SOUTH WEST£6,490,257£5,468,117£5,359,086£6,886,040£6,878,754£6,876,612Total£75,000,000£63,000,000£58,000,000£75,000,000£75,000,000£75,000,000*For 2012-13, 25% of the allocation went to local authorities for April-July, and 75% to the new music hubs for August-March.

Sex and Relationship Education

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 1 March 2017, HCWS 509, what the (a) timetable and (b) planned commencement date is for the consultation on the provision of relationships education.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education will be conducting a thorough engagement process on the scope and content of relationships education, relationships and sex education and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, involving a wide range of interested stakeholders. The engagement process will seek evidence from schools and teachers; parents and pupils; experts in safeguarding and child wellbeing; subject experts; voluntary organisations and other interested parties; and other government departments and public sector bodies. We will set out more details shortly about the engagement process and the work to consider age appropriate subject content.

Universities: Hate Crime

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has published on preventing speakers intending to incite hate being given a platform on university campuses.

Joseph Johnson: Universities are required to balance their freedom of speech duty alongside other legal responsibilities, such as laws against different types of speech that can incite hatred. This includes the statutory Prevent duty. The government has published statutory guidance on Prevent (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance) explaining that universities are required to consider the impact and mitigations needed to host a particular speaker and whether their views constitute extremist views and risk drawing people into terrorism. The sector takes these issues seriously and has produced a variety of helpful guidance for hosting speakers. This includes the Universities UK guidance: Freedom of speech on campus (http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2011/freedom-of-speech-on-campus.pdf) and External speakers in higher education institutions (http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2013/external-speakers-in-higher-education-institutions.pdf).

Schools: Cambridgeshire

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of schools funding in Cambridgeshire.

Nick Gibb: The Government will continue to work to ensure that every child has the opportunity to attend a good school and that all schools are fairly funded. The core schools budget has been protected in real terms since 2010 and is set to rise from £41bn in 2017-18 to over £42bn in 2019-20 with increasing pupil numbers. We are considering the more than 25,000 responses we received to the National Funding Formula consultation, and will publish our response in due course.

Teachers: Cambridge

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the retention of teachers in Cambridge constituency.

Nick Gibb: We are committed to provide greater support to teachers to tackle the most frequently cited reason for teachers wanting to leave the profession, which is unnecessary workload. We are continuing our extensive work with the profession to remove unnecessary workload so that teachers can concentrate on teaching and not bureaucracy and paperwork. This includes implementing the recommendations of the three independent review groups from the 2014 Workload Challenge – ineffective marking, use of planning and resources, and data management.We are working with key stakeholders to ensure greater support for these schools, which will include supporting schools in each region, including Cambridgeshire, to ensure teacher retention challenges are addressed. We are also encouraging schools to make greater use of the pay flexibilities, including retention allowances.

Regional Schools Commissioners

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of regional schools commissioners.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As civil servants, the Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) are subject to the civil service performance management framework. The RSCs are accountable to the National Schools Commissioner, Sir David Carter. RSC performance is also monitored against a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Performance against these KPIs is published annually. The latest report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-annual-report-academic-year-2014-to-2015. The next report is due to be published in the autumn. Alongside this, the RSCs provide regular updates to the Parliamentary under Secretary of State, Lord Nash, together and individually, on specific cases.

Schools: Newham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy that no school in the London Borough of Newham will see a reduction in (a) cash and (b) per pupil funding in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: This Government will continue to work to ensure that every child has the opportunity to attend a good school and that all schools are fairly funded. The core schools budget has been protected in real terms since 2010 and is set to rise from £41 billion in 2017-18 to over £42 billion in 2019-20 with increasing pupil numbers. We are considering the more than 25,000 responses we received to the National Funding Formula consultation, and will publish our response in due course.

Schools: Admissions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to provide additional school places in (a) Stroud constituency and (b) Gloucestershire.

Nick Gibb: Supporting local authorities to create sufficient school places is one of the Government’s top priorities. Since 2015 we have committed £5.8 billion to deliver new school places, on top of our investment in the free schools programme.Gloucestershire County Council has been allocated £85.1 million in basic need funding allocations for the period 2011 to 2020 to create new school places, and has created 3,339 places between 2010 and 2016.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocationshttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-school-places-scorecards-2016The Department has opened two free schools in Gloucestershire since 2010, and we have plans to open a further two free schools and one university technical college up to 2018. These schools are providing approximately 1451 additional school places in the area.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-open-schools-and-successful-applications

Midwives: Training

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) people applied and (b) applications were received for places on midwifery training courses by the January deadline in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson: The Department does not hold data on the number of applicants and applications to midwifery training courses. The information may be available from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Academies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the Government's policies for academy schools of the conclusions of the Sutton Trust report, Chain Effects 2017.

Nick Gibb: The Department considers evidence from a wide range of sources when developing policy.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Alex Burghart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost of restoring the education maintenance allowance for 16 to 18-year-olds in each parental income decile.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has not assessed the cost of restoring the Education Maintenance Allowance for 16 to 18 year olds in each parental income decile.

Schools: Staff

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will introduce a pay review body for school support staff.

Nick Gibb: We have no plans to introduce a pay review body for school support staff.Support staff terms and conditions are determined locally by employers to suit specific job roles and circumstances. As such, the local authority will set the terms and conditions for support staff in maintained schools and the individual school or Trust will set them in academies.

Mathematics: Education

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.89 of Budget 2016, when her Department plans to publish Professor Sir Adrian Smith's review of mathematics teaching for 16 to 18-year-olds.

Nick Gibb: The Sir Adrian Smith’s review of post 16 mathematics will be published in due course. Some of the initial findings of the review are set out in the Building our Industrial Strategy Green Paper, which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/building-our-industrial-strategy.The terms of reference were published in July 2016, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/south-asian-method-of-teaching-maths-to-be-rolled-out-in-schools.

Schools: Insulation

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information from local authorities she has on how many schools (a) have and (b) are suspected of having ACM cladding.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her policy centrally to fund any school improvement work that is required to make school buildings safer as a result of safety tests carried out as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: We have instructed all bodies responsible for safety in schools, colleges and universities to carry out checks to identify any buildings that might require further investigation and to flag any concerns. This has included carrying out checks for Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding where it may pose a risk.We have had thousands of responses from schools and responsible bodies. Work is ongoing to go through this data. We are contacting schools if we need further information. Our priority is to analyse the data returns as quickly as possible and contact all schools that have cladding that may require further checks, in line with the collective government response. Updates on the outcomes of any cladding tests will be provided once they are available. Where we agree that remedial work is required we will support responsible bodies to make the necessary amendments to ensure pupils safety.

Schools: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 62 of stage two of the Schools National Funding Formula consultation, whether it remains her policy to bring forward legislation to implement the change to the funding formula in due course; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 62 of stage two of the Schools National Funding Formula consultation, whether it remains her policy that from 2019-20, the national funding formula will be used to calculate the vast majority of each individual school's budget so that schools are predominantly funded through a consistent national approach without the additional layer of variation and complexity created by the current existence of a different formula in every local authority; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government is determined to introduce a fairer funding formula. We are committed to ensure that no school has its budget cut as a result of the new formula.We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation, which we are analysing in detail. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will work with Parliament to bring forward proposals that command consensus and will publish the response to the consultation in due course.

GCSE

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is the Government's policy that 75 per cent of students will take the EBacc combination of GCSE subjects by 2022.

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is the Government's policy that 90 per cent of students will take the EBacc combination of GCSE subjects by 2025.

Nick Gibb: The Government believes that the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) provides the right educational foundation for the vast majority of pupils. Since 2015, the Government has been clear that we want to see 90 per cent of pupils study the EBacc combination of subjects at GCSE. We will publish further detail about the EBacc policy in due course.

Race Relations: Education

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on how many schools teach anti-racism education; and what assessment her Department has made of the quality of that education.

Nick Gibb: We do not hold data on how many schools teach anti-racism education. Every school is different and each school will face its own challenges. Schools have the autonomy to tailor their approach to tackling these issues and to take action according to their individual requirements. The Equality Act introduced the Public Sector Equality Duty. Under this duty, state funded schools must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people with protected characteristics and none. The National Curriculum also provides many opportunities to raise awareness of racial and religious diversity and tolerance. Teaching about racism and discrimination can be included as part of the statutory programme of study for citizenship education at ages 11-16 in maintained schools. Citizenship education should include the development of pupils’ understanding of the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom and the need for mutual respect and understanding.Schools are also free to teach about racism in personal, social, health, economic (PSHE) education, where pupils can reflect on and challenge notions of prejudice. Schools are already expected to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and, as part of this, fundamental British values, including the values of mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. This is at the heart of their responsibility to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

English Baccalaureate

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to include creative, artistic and technical subjects in the English Baccalaureate.

Nick Gibb: The Government believes that all students should have access to a well rounded education, through a broad and balanced curriculum.The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) comprises the following subjects at GCSE: English, mathematics, the sciences (including computer science), history or geography and a language. The EBacc has been designed to be limited in its size in order to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for pupils to study other subjects of their choice. On average, pupils in state funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for some pupils. As the EBacc covers up to eight GCSEs, this leaves room for other choices, including creative, artistic and technical subjects. The Government’s response to the consultation on the EBacc, setting out our policy, will be published in due course.

Students: Debts

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the implications for her Department's policies are of the findings from the Institute for Fiscal Studies of 4 July 2017 on the comparative effect of the removal of the maintenance grant on levels of debt from students from poorer and richer families.

Joseph Johnson: Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are going to university at a record rate – they were 43 per cent more likely to go to university in 2016 than they were in 2009. The Government is committed to maintaining the UK’s world class higher education system while living within its means and ensuring all those with the talent to benefit from a higher education can afford to do so. To put higher education funding onto a more sustainable footing, the Government asked future graduates to meet more of the costs of their studies through replacing maintenance grants with loans.The equality analysis for the 2016/17 student support regulations assessed the impact of this policy change, including the impact on students from low income backgrounds. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482110/bis-15-639-student-finance-equality-analysis.pdf.

Apprentices: Finance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on future use by her Department of funds allocated for apprenticeships before the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

Anne Milton: The introduction of the apprenticeships levy puts the funding of apprenticeships on a sustainable long-term footing. The 2015 Spending Review set forward budgets for apprenticeship spending, and £2.5 billion will be invested in apprenticeships in England by 2019-20 – double the amount spent in 2010-11. Funds allocated in 2016/17, before the levy was introduced, were spent on apprenticeships. There have been no further discussions on this matter. Further information about the levy and budget can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545145/Apprenticeships_-expected_levy_and_total_spend_-_Aug_2016.pdf

Leader of the House

Sinn Fein: Finance

Lady Hermon: To ask the Leader of the House, whether hon. Members elected for Sinn Fein receive any monies in funding analogous to Short Money provision to the Democratic Unionist Party.

Andrea Leadsom: Short Money is not available to parties whose Members have not sworn the oath. Instead, Representative Money is available to those parties so that they may carry out their representative duties.Further information about Representative Money is available at http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01663/SN01663.pdf.

Democratic Unionist Party: Short Money

Lady Hermon: To ask the Leader of the House, what estimate she has made of the amount of Short Money that the Democratic Unionist Party will receive as a result of the outcome of the June 2017 General Election.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer that was given to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East on Question UIN 1655. This was answered Monday 3rd July.

Domestic Violence

Diana Johnson: To ask the Leader of the House, what the Government's timetable is for the Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has set out an ambitious programme of 27 bills and drafts bills and noted that additional bills will be announced as the session progresses. The timescales for forthcoming bills and draft bills will be announced in the usual manner in due course.

Courts

Diana Johnson: To ask the Leader of the House, when and in which House the Government plans to introduce the Courts Bill.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has set out an ambitious programme of 27 bills and drafts bills and noted that additional bills will be announced as the session progresses. The timescales for forthcoming bills and draft bills will be announced in the usual manner in due course.

Patients: Safety

Diana Johnson: To ask the Leader of the House, when and in which House the Government plans to introduce the Patient Safety Bill.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has set out an ambitious programme of 27 bills and drafts bills and noted that additional bills will be announced as the session progresses. The timescales for forthcoming bills and draft bills will be announced in the usual manner in due course.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Small Businesses: Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48089, what estimate she has made of the number of small and medium-sized businesses which have signed up to the Cyber Essentials programme (a) since that Answer and (b) in 2017.

Matt Hancock: As of the end of May 2017, the estimated number of Cyber Essentials certificates awarded to enterprises is 6,363, which for micro, small and medium enterprises amounts to:2,360 certificates since end September 2016; and1,673 certificates from January to May 2017.Note that the methodology for recording these figures has changed, so these figures cannot be compared to historical data given. With reference to my previous answer, cited by the Honourable Member, the revised estimated total number of certificates awarded at the end of September 2016 stands at 3308, of which 2427 were awarded to micro, small and medium enterprises.

Digital Technology: Urban Areas

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is providing to cities to grow their digital media industries.

Matt Hancock: The creative industries, including the digital media industries, are the fastest growing part of the UK’s economy. The Government is committed to ensuring that the creative industries continue to thrive nationwide, including in York. This is why we are developing an ambitious Industrial Strategy that will drive growth across the country, bringing together local businesses as well as political and public sector leaders. We want to identify and support local specialisms and clusters of business. For many places, the creative industries will form a vital part of that thinking.

Business: Data Protection

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of resources available to the Information Commissioner's Office to support businesses in the implementation of changes to the General Data Protection Regulation.

Matt Hancock: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports is committed to ensuring the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is adequately resourced to fulfil its current functions under the Data Protection Act 1998 and its new responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which includes guidance and support to businesses. The Government has recently introduced new charging provisions in the Digital Economy Act 2017 to ensure the ICO it is adequately resourced both during the transitional period and once the GDPR comes into effect in May 2018. The ICO has issued guidance for businesses on how to prepare for the GDPR. This is available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/guidance-what-to-expect-and-when/.

Internet

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the proportion of people aged (a) 18 to 29, (b) 30 to 44, (c) 45 to 59, (d) 60 to 79 and (e) over 80-years old who have internet access in each parliamentary constituency.

Matt Hancock: Whether a person has “internet access” can be measured in different ways, for example whether their household has a fixed broadband connection, or whether they own a smartphone. However, I am not aware of any estimates of the proportion of people who have internet access by age group in each parliamentary constituency.Ofcom’s “Adults' media use and attitudes” reports also set out estimates of different types of “internet access”, including by age, and geographical location, but not at constituency level. Fixed broadband infrastructure is almost universally available across the UK, and we are bringing in a Universal Service Obligation to ensure everyone in the UK has the right to request an affordable connection to broadband of a minimum specified speed, from a designated provider, no matter where they live or work, up to a reasonable cost threshold.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Matt Hancock: The government is committed to providing services that are digital by default - reducing paper and manual processing, reducing cost and improving user satisfaction.

Public Libraries

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many local libraries have been operating in each region of England and Wales in each year since 2010.

John Glen: Data relating to libraries is collected from local authorities by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy which makes available the data annually to subscribers.

Charitable Donations

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate she has made of the amount raised by the Fundraising Regulator's levy on charity fundraising in the latest period for which figures are available.

Tracey Crouch: The Fundraising Regulator has said that it is on track to raise at least £1.8m from its voluntary levy for the year September 2016 to August 2017. Almost all of the largest fundraising charities have paid the levy. Some smaller fundraising charities have yet to respond and a few have refused to pay. The Fundraising Regulator is continuing to chase these charities. It will be for the Fundraising Regulator to decide whether to publish the names of those charities that have refused to pay or that have not responded to payment requests.

Charitable Donations

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the Fundraising Regulator's levy on charity fundraising.

Tracey Crouch: The levy enables the Fundraising Regulator to strengthen the Code of Fundraising Practice, resolve public complaints and concerns about fundraising, and ultimately supports public trust and confidence in fundraising.

Charities: Fund Raising

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is providing to charities to help them adopt digital technology for fundraising.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to building the resilience and independence of smaller charities. Through our ongoing dialogue across the sector, we know that small charities want more support to fundraise effectively through better use of digital technology.In recognition of this, the Office for Civil Society in England are providing a multi-year programme of fundraising training and support. This includes expert support to build the digital fundraising capabilities of small charities through face-to-face training, intensive one-to-one advice sessions, skilled volunteering matches and webinars.The training will be provided at little or no cost and the providers will also develop and share fundraising training resources and toolkits to support small charities who might not be able to attend training.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Incinerators

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to assess the adequacy of levels of capacity in the provision of the incineration of waste.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The incineration of waste with energy recovery (also known as energy from waste) plays an important role in diverting waste from landfill but it must not compete with greater prevention, re-use and recycling of waste. We have a high level of confidence that we will have sufficient waste infrastructure, including energy from waste capacity, in place to meet the UK’s 2020 landfill diversion target. Going forward, the National Infrastructure Commission is looking at waste as part of its assessment of the UK’s major infrastructure needs on a 30-year time horizon. We will consider the Commission’s findings along with any capacity issues associated with waste infrastructure as we develop future policy on waste and resources.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

George Eustice: The Digital Transformation Programme is targeting the redevelopment and improvement of key Defra services to make them easier for customers to interact with the department, and to make cost efficiencies through the use of more modern and flexible technology that is better able to support Defra's services through changing requirements. Different areas of work within the Programme are looking at different services provided by Defra, most of which are already online. However, there are a number of projects and work streams which will deliver reductions of the amount of manual processing on paper. These include: - Farm Services Management: through the roll-out of a new scheduling and data capture tool which, in conjunction with new mobile devices, will reduce the amount of paper-recording by APHA inspectors.- Animal Disease Testing Service: which provides a digital alternative to written requests from Vets for disease tests for animals.- Fishing Rod Licenses: by providing an easier digital application process, so reducing the proportions of requests through telephone or over-the-counter channels. These are important benefits of the Digital Transformation Programme. But the main focus of the Programme is to replace old systems with newer ones that are more cost effective and easier for customers to use.

Fishing Grounds: Protection

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the required strength of the fisheries protection fleet after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: We are reviewing all aspects of fisheries management, including the future requirements for patrol vessels as we prepare to leave the EU. This will involve working with stakeholders, Devolved Administrations and other Government Departments to deliver an effective enforcement model for fisheries.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in his Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of the Department.

George Eustice: The number of protected disclosures made by staff within Defra core department over the last 3 years is nil.

Plastics: Waste Disposal

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce and prevent plastic waste in the countryside.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has taken action to reduce plastic waste and increase recycling, including:The UK Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations, which cover silage wrap and other plastic packaging found on farms, require obligated producers of packaging to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they handle is recovered and recycled. These regulations have resulted in a significant increase in recycling over the last decade, with recycling of packaging rising from around 46% in 2005 to 60% in 2015.The Government introduced a 5p charge on single-use plastic carrier bags from 5 October 2015. So far the 5p charge has been effective in decreasing the distribution of plastic bags, contributing to a reduction in the number of plastic bags found in the open environment. The latest figures are due to be published by 31st July. The Government also published the first Litter Strategy for England on 10 April, setting out our intention to apply best practice in education, enforcement and infrastructure to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering behaviour within a generation. The common aim of all the actions in the Litter Strategy is to change the behaviour of those who currently feel that it is acceptable to drop any kind of litter, whether they are in an urban or rural environment. The Strategy can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england

Air Pollution: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Assembly on air pollution.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Since his appointment, the Secretary of State has not discussed air quality with the Northern Ireland Assembly, which is not currently sitting. Defra officials are in regular contact with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in relation to the development of the UK air quality plan for tackling nitrogen dioxide.

Ivory: Sales

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to start the consultation exercise on a ban on the trade of ivory.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Bringing an end to elephant poaching is a priority for this government We are currently considering next steps and will set these out in due course.

Bees: Monitoring

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that bee habitats are monitored and that bees can and do pollinate.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are taking action both to improve the status of bees and provide feeding and nesting habitat. We have established a pollinator monitoring and research partnership with research institutes and volunteer organisations to gather further data and improve our understanding of the status of pollinators in the UK. We are also working with farmers, business and conservation organisations to provide pollinator habitat on farmland, in urban areas and in gardens. On farmland, we have introduced a Pollinator and Wildlife Package to our Countryside Stewardship Scheme in England, to provide year-round habitat such as flower-rich field margins. Forty percent of all 2016 Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier agreements are delivering the Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package. Our monitoring for Countryside Stewardship gathers additional data on the benefits of these agreements for pollinators.

Environment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish the 25-year plan for the environment.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are committed to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it. We will produce a 25 year environment plan during this parliament.

Neonicotinoids

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's policy is on neonicotinoid crop protection products.

George Eustice: As part of the preparation for EU exit, we are considering future arrangements for the regulation of pesticides. Our highest priority will continue to be the protection of people and the environment. The Government remains of the view that decisions on the use of pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks. Pesticides that carry unacceptable risks to pollinators should not be authorised. The Government keeps the developing evidence on neonicotinoids under review, advised by the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides, but on the basis of current available evidence, we support the existing restrictions.

Rivers: EU Law

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of rivers in England and Wales meeting the 2027 EU Water Framework Directive deadline for good ecological status; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive within the UK is a devolved matter. Updated River Basin Management Plans published in 2016 provide the framework for protecting and improving the water environment, and focus on the improvements for the period 2016 to 2021. The plans for England confirm over £3billion of investment by 2021, leading to improvements in at least 680 water bodies, including an overall target to enhance at least 8000 km of waters by 2021. The plans will be reviewed and updated in 2021 taking account of progress that has been made and the best evidence then on what can be achieved by 2027.

Water: EU Law

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans for steps taken to meet the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive to continue after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In the Queen’s speech 2017 it was announced that a Bill will be introduced to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act. The Bill is to provide certainty for individuals and businesses on leaving the EU by converting current EU law, including that transposing the Water Framework Directive, into UK law. This will ensure a smooth and orderly transition as well as retaining legislation that protects our environment. We remain fully committed to delivering our manifesto commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than we found it.

Food: Standards

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that current food standards are maintained after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Existing rules on food standards will remain in place when the UK exits the EU to provide continuity for consumers and businesses. The Secretary of State has been clear that there will be no diminution or dilution of food standards after we leave the EU.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Business: Scotland

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how his Department is providing opportunities for Scottish businesses to feed into the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Steve Baker: We have pursued a wide-ranging programme of engagement since the Department was created in order to build a national consensus around our negotiating position.We are speaking to a significant number of organisations and individuals, including businesses in Scotland, to establish their priorities and understand their concerns.Details of Ministerial and senior official meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

Department for Exiting the European Union: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Mr Steve Baker: The government is committed to providing services that are digital by default - reducing paper and manual processing, reducing cost and improving user satisfaction.

European Parliament: Wines

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) amount and (b) value of wine owned by the European Parliament.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate his Department has made of the value of the European Parliament's art collection.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate his Department has made of the net worth of property owned by the European Parliament.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department for Exiting the European Union does not hold this information. This information is held by the European Parliament. Given this, we cannot provide an estimate.

Immigration

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 6 of his Department's policy paper entitled Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether there will be a minimum income threshold to obtain settled status.

Mr Robin Walker: EU citizens who already have 5 years’ continuous residence in the UK will be immediately eligible for settled status. Those who arrived before the specified date but do not yet meet the 5 year threshold by exit day will be allowed to stay until they reach that milestone and can also secure settled status. These rules will apply regardless of citizens’ income levels.

Immigration

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 36 of his Department's policy paper entitled Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether the fee to apply for settled status will exceed the current fee to make an application for a permanent residence document.

Mr Robin Walker: Fees and charges are being considered as part of the negotiations. Our aim is to offer a streamlined and high quality service for everyone, keeping fees at a reasonable level. We will make the process as streamlined as possible for all individuals, including those who already hold a residence document under current free movement rules. As set out in the paper, we will publish further details in due course.

Immigration

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what legal status he plans to accord the policy proposals contained in that paper; and what plans he has to ensure the enforceability of those rights.

Mr Robin Walker: The policy proposals contained in the paper outline our fair and serious offer to citizens. Following negotiations, agreements will be enshrined in UK law and enforceable through the UK judicial system, up to and including the Supreme Court. We are also ready to make commitments in the Withdrawal Agreement which will have the status of international law.

Attorney General

Hate Crime: Disability

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Attorney General, what progress has been made on increasing the number of prosecutions for disability hate crime.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has taken a number of steps to improve its prosecution of all strands of hate crime. Specifically they have delivered mandatory face to face disability hate crime training for all prosecutors to deal more effectively with disability hate crime cases.As a result, the CPS is prosecuting, and convicting, more defendants of disability hate crime than ever before. In 2015-16, the CPS completed 941 disability hate crime prosecutions, an increase of 275 on the previous year.The proportion of successfully completed prosecutions with an announced and recorded sentence uplift increased to 11.9% from 5.4% the previous year.The CPS will shortly be publishing a public policy statement on disability hate crime and a Support Guide for victims and witnesses with disabilities.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in his Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of his Department.

Guto Bebb: None.

Ministry of Justice

Alzheimer's Disease: Powers of Attorney

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of safeguards for people living with Alzheimer's from those appointed with lasting power of attorney who act against their best interests.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether an assessment is made of an individual's capacity in the appointment of an attorney with lasting power of attorney.

Dr Phillip Lee: When someone makes a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) a ‘certificate provider’ is required to be impartial and sign the application to certify that the donor is making the LPA by choice, has not been put under any pressure and understands its implications. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 the holder (‘donee’) of a LPA must act in the donor’s best interests, whatever the cause of loss of capacity. The Court of Protection (CoP) has the power to revoke a power of attorney if the donee acts in a way that is not in the donor’s best interests. There may also be a criminal investigation. Any concerns about the use of a power of attorney should notify the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) which registers LPAs and has the power to investigate. The OPG acts on such ‘safeguarding referrals’ from relatives, local authorities, care homes and financial institutions. OPG works with organisations such as the CoP, local authorities and the police to protect donors.OPG received a total of 2,681 safeguarding referrals during 2015/16 and investigated 876 cases, of which 151 cases resulted in an application to the CoP.

Offences against Children

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to include (a) sports coaches and (b) youth leaders within the Positions of Trust provisions of section 21 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Dominic Raab: The Government has no current plan to legislate in this way. However, the protection of children remains a priority for this Government and we keep this important area of the law under review.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment appeals there have been in the Stroud District in each year since 2010; and how many such appeals were successful.

Dominic Raab: The table below contains the requested information.Appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) in Stroud1 for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)2 and Personal Independence Payment (PIP)3YearBenefit TypeReceiptsClearances at Hearing Found in Favour of Appellant2009-104ESA1,110184 PIP002010-114ESA1,811602 PIP002011-124ESA1,618625 PIP002012-134ESA2,474963 PIP002013-144ESA2,2881,356 PIP~502014-154ESA286165 PIP132422015-164ESA342203 PIP4302462016-174ESA638272 PIP846410  SSCS data are attributed to the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. The data above represent appellants with home addresses in the Stroud district who had appeals heard at the Tribunal’s Gloucester, Swindon and previously Cheltenham venues. Appeals were last listed to the Cheltenham venue in May 2017.  Includes ESA and ESA (Reassessments). 3. PIP replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64 and rolled out from 8 April 2013. It was trialled in areas of the North of England and gradually rolled out across other regions. As such there were no appeals cleared in the Stroud district in 2013-2014.  By financial year - from 1 April to 31 March.  Denotes appeal types where fewer than five cases were involved and therefore data are statistically unreliable. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data available. The data are a subset of official statistics extracted from the case management system on a different date.

Ministry of Justice: ICT

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of manual processing on paper that it carries out and to make such processing digital.

Dr Phillip Lee: The government continues to encourage more people to go online, so they can access the guidance and services they need – as well as reducing the cost of public services. Through our Digital transformation programme within HMCTS, and MoJ’s Transformation programme which introduces more mobile IT devices we have reduced our reliance on paper. The use of the Crown Court Digital Case System has saved us from printing over 40 million pages of information, reducing the amount of classified waste produced. Details of the department’s performance in reducing its paper consumption were published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report – April 2015 to March 2016 on 20 April 2017:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2015-to-2016-annual-report

Offenders: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the White Paper on Prison safety and reform published in November 2016, when he plans to publish a strategy to improve the treatment of female offenders in custody and in the community.

Dr Phillip Lee: As set out in the in the White Paper on Prison Safety and Reform in November 2016, we plan to set out a strategy for female offenders later this year. This will aim to improve outcomes for women in custody, and in the community.

Prisoners: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of female prisoners in June 2017.

Dr Phillip Lee: The latest snapshot of the prison population as at 30 June, 2017, shows that there were 4,007 female prisoners, which is an increase of 36 from 2 June, 2017. From an analytical perspective, these increases are small, of less than 1%. It is too early to say what, if anything, is causing this increase.

Prisoners: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of women in prison.

Dr Phillip Lee: As set out in the November 2016 White Paper on Prison Safety and Reform, we plan to publish a strategy for female offenders later this year, and this will address how we can improve outcomes for women across the criminal justice system. The strategy will build on the existing work we are already funding in local areas to introduce a Whole Systems Approach, aimed at prevention and early intervention, and on our work to roll out Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services across England. L&D services, based at police stations and courts, help identify people with mental health issues, substance misuse problems and other vulnerabilities as soon as they come into contact with the criminal justice system, with a view to diverting them into treatment and support where appropriate.

Scotland Office

Scottish Parliament: Finance

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the planned timeframe is for the introduction of new financial arrangements for the Scottish Parliament agreed in the Scotland Act 2016.

David Mundell: The financial arrangements for the Scotland Act 2016 are set out in the Fiscal Framework Agreement agreed between the UK and Scottish Governments during the passage of the Scotland Bill. A copy of the Fiscal Framework was placed in the library of the House on the 25 February 2016. The Fiscal Framework sets out the timeframe for introduction of the new financial arrangements. The transfer of these significant financial powers to the Scottish Parliament is already underway and a number of the associated powers have already been fully implemented, these include: The full devolution of income tax rates and bands and thresholds for non-savings and non-dividend income which was delivered in April 2017;Revenues from courts and tribunals in Scotland are now retained by the Scottish Government as of April 2017;Enhanced borrowing powers came into force for the 2017-2018 financial year. The remaining aspects of the Fiscal Framework will be taken forward in line with the timetable set out in the Fiscal Framework Agreement.

Scotland Office: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in his Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of his Department.

David Mundell: No protective disclosures were made by staff in the Scotland Office in the last three years.

Cabinet Office

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration: Complaints

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the average time taken for a complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman to reach the Ombudsman after being referred to an hon. Member; if he will make it his policy to remove the requirement for complaints to that Ombudsman to be made through a hon. Member; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is independent of Government. Data is not collected about how long it takes for MPs to refer complaints they receive to the Ombudsman. The Government published a draft Public Service Ombudsman Bill in December 2016, setting out in detail its plans to introduce a new Public Service Ombudsman. The draft Bill proposes removing the requirement that complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman must be made through an MP and allows complainants to refer a complaint directly, or through their local MP. The draft Bill will be progressed as and when a legislative opportunity arises.

Fire Prevention: Inspections

Mary Creagh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 26 June 2017, column 348, if he will list the public sector buildings which are now undergoing checks.

Caroline Nokes: We are not providing a running commentary on individual buildings being tested. We have a process underway to collect information and undertake testing on priority buildings across the public sector estate. Where appropriate, organisations are working with the fire and rescue service locally to put in place precautionary safety checks and measures.

Regulation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Red Tape Initiative (a) prior to and (b) since the fire at Grenfell Tower; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: I have discussed the tragedy at Grenfell Tower and the Government's response to that incident with a range of Cabinet colleagues in recent weeks. Helping the affected community recover and learning the lessons of Grenfell Tower remains a matter of critical importance to the Government. The Red Tape Challenge was launched by the Cabinet Office in 2011 and ran until 2015. The Red Tape Challenge had, by 2014, identified over 3,000 regulations to remove or improve, delivering estimated savings to UK businesses of over £850m per year as a result of the programme. We are currently considering how best to continue to deliver our commitment to regulate more efficiently and effectively over the course of this parliament.

Small Businesses

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many businesses have successfully scaled up from being a start-up to having more than nine employees in each of the last five years.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ2435
(PDF Document, 147.63 KB)

Cabinet Office: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many protected disclosures were made by staff in his Department in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such disclosures were found to be valid; how many staff alleged detriment as a result of making such a disclosure; and how many staff who (a) made such a disclosure and (b) alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure subsequently left the employment of the Department.

Caroline Nokes: Cabinet Office has a whistleblowing policy and procedure in place which allows for civil servants to report a perceived wrongdoing within the department, including something that they believe goes against the core values in the Civil Service Code. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) will apply in some of these cases, and provides protection to those that ‘blow the whistle’ in certain circumstances. The figures provided in the table below show the total number of whistleblowing cases that were protected disclosures under PIDA (A). The table goes on to show the number of cases found to be valid under PIDA (B), the number of employees that alleged detriment as a result of the disclosure under PIDA (C), and finally the number of employees who made a disclosure under PIDA, alleged detriment as a result of a disclosure and subsequently left the department (D). A. Number of whistleblowing cases that were covered under PIDAB. Number of cases found to be valid under PIDAC. Number of employees that alleged detriment as a result of the disclosure under PIDAD. Number of employees who subsequently left the department (i.e. after making a disclosure and then alleged detriment as a result of the disclosure)2014/15No data availableNo data availableNo data availableNo data available2015/1600002016/170000

Public Service: Ombudsman

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to introduce a single public service ombudsman.

Chris Skidmore: I refer the Honourable gentleman to my previous answer (1204)The Government published a draft Public Service Ombudsman Bill in December 2016, setting out in detail its plans to introduce a new Public Service Ombudsman. The draft Bill will be progressed as and when a legislative opportunity arises.

Regulation

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2017 to Question 861, on regulation, for what reason funds from the public purse were spent on the Red Tape Challenge in 2016-17 after the programme closed in 2015.

Caroline Nokes: The Red Tape Challenge was launched under the Coalition Government in 2011. The initiative ran until March 2015. Following the 2015 General Election, the Government continued the focus on improving regulation and established the Cutting Red Tape programme. In November 2016, policy responsibility moved from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

EU Nationals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many non-UK EU citizens, by country of origin are currently living in the UK.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ2776
(PDF Document, 81.99 KB)

Local Government: Iron and Steel

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to support local authorities in procuring steel of UK origin.

Caroline Nokes: Since December 2016, all local authorities have been required to implement existing government guidelines that set out how government buyers should source steel for major projects so that the true value of UK steel is taken into account in major procurement decisions:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance

Voting Behaviour

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure people can only vote once in an election.

Chris Skidmore: Voting in more than one location at a General Election or at other national polls such as a referendum is a crime which carries an unlimited financial penalty. We take this matter very seriously. I have raised this issue as a priority with the Electoral Commission and look forward to their report on the 2017 General Election. It is possible to determine whether an individual has voted twice at a General Election by checking the marked register of those who have voted. If anyone has evidence of someone voting twice, then they should report this to their local returning officer and to the police.

General Election 2017: Voting Behaviour

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ask the Electoral Commission to investigate how many (a) students and (b) other individuals voted in more than one parliamentary constituency in the 2017 General Election.

Chris Skidmore: The Government takes this matter very seriously. I have raised this issue with the Electoral Commission as a matter of priority and look forward to their report on the 2017 General Election.

Constituencies

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated cost to the public purse of the 2018 boundary review will be.

Chris Skidmore: The estimated cost of the current boundary review, comprising expenditure from 2015-7 and projected expenditure from 2017-19, is approximately £8 million. This includes the usual costs such as staffing and accommodation, and other activities necessary for the boundary review for the boundary commissions for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Constituencies: Northern Ireland

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2017 to Question 614, what the number of parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland will be following the 2018 constituency boundary review.

Chris Skidmore: At the current Boundary Review, in accordance with the legislation, the Boundary Commissions decided the allocation of parliamentary constituencies across the United Kingdom, and that Northern Ireland should have 17 constituencies.

Cabinet Office: Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps his Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

Damian Green: The Race Disparity Audit will publish Government data about ethnicity on a website. The data will show the ethnic classifications available for each dataset covered, including where available Gypsies and Travellers.

Cabinet Office: Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff have left or agreed settlements to leave his Department under (a) voluntary exit, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy since 1 November 2016; and how much compensation was paid in those cases.

Caroline Nokes: Details of the number, type, compensation levels and cost of exits from the Cabinet Office are routinely published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Public Sector: Procurement

Drew Hendry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will assess the effect on public procurement of the UK leaving the EU without having agreed a trade deal with the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The current public procurement rules will continue to apply until the UK has left the EU following the successful conclusion of exit negotiations. The longer-term opportunities for our procurement regulations are being considered carefully.

Government Departments: Pay

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff across central government departments have their pay capped at one per cent; and what proportion of such staff that figure represents.

Caroline Nokes: At the Summer Budget 2015, it was announced that the Government will fund public sector workforces for a pay award of 1% for 4 years from 2016-17 onwards. This policy applies to the Civil Service.

Public Sector: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times certificates of past performance have been requested by in-scope organisations as set out in the Public Procurement Note published on 25 March 2015; and what proportion of all contracts above the value of £20 million have included a Certificate of Past Performance.

Caroline Nokes: Since the Procurement Policy Note – Taking Account of Suppliers’ Past Performance (PPN 04/15) was published on 25 March 2015, the Cabinet Office has received 295 performance certificates. Information is not held centrally on what proportion of all contracts above the value of £20 million have included a Certificate of Past Performance.

Crown Dependencies: Companies

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which of the UK's Crown Dependencies have a fully functional register of beneficial ownership; and which of those dependencies does not have such a fully-functional register.

Chris Skidmore: The construction of central registers or similarly effective systems is complete in all our Crown Dependencies. Legislation to underpin the registers has been passed by their respective legislatures. Guernsey and Alderney’s legislation to enable their registers to be operational will be considered by the Privy Council this month. Population of the registers with data will be taken forward as a priority in the coming months.